Rhine-stoning crafters, web-designers, therapists, nutritionists and archery instructors are just some examples of businesses that some of my clients have launched.  In almost all these cases, there was a hard-working woman who wanted to change her work situation so that she could have more control over her own schedule, more flexibility to care for her family and more choices about how to generate income.

I am also an example of a woman who turned her career into a business.  In my case, I went from being an underpaid and overworked non-profit counseling center therapist to a therapist and business coach in private practice.  When I opened my private practice I faced the challenge of learning how to wear all the different hats (marketing, accountant, CEO, etc,) in addition to providing therapy and coaching for my clients.  However, I also began to reap the rewards of being able to set my own schedule so I could attend my sons’ soccer games and piano recitals, set my own fees, and determine what kind of clients I could best help.

Another inspiring story is that of a woman I met years back who had always loved outdoor activities (hiking, kayaking, riding horses).  She felt so stifled in her job which kept her cooped up working in a tiny cubicle doing tasks she did not enjoy.  With the encouragement from some her friends she decided to launch her own outdoor adventure business.  She began it on the weekends – she offered outdoor adventure tours for small groups of people who needed a guide.  She provided packed lunches, water and all the outdoor fun you could imagine.  Soon, she was giving these outdoor adventure tours for so many groups she was able to quit her job and focus on growing the business she loved.

There are so many of these wonderful examples of women starting unique, creative businesses out of their unique passions and purpose.  I hope to encourage you to get creative, think outside the box and know that you can create a business that will use your best gifts and traits while putting your interests to good use as well.  While running your own business involves a lot of learning, growing and decision-making – it can also mean you get to do the things that mean the most to you.

To inspire hope in you, here are 5 steps to take before you decide what kind of business to start.

1.  Get to know yourself really well.  Doing the self-discovery work is an important first step.  This means knowing your personality type, unearthing your childhood dreams, learning about your weaknesses, and understanding how your psyche handles things like risk-taking and self-motivating.

2.  Choose two or three business ideas and research the competition.  Look up existing businesses that already provide what you are hoping to provide.  Use Google (search engine) to type in keywords (an example of a keyword for a nature adventure business might be “outdoor adventures in San Diego”) to find out what already exists.  Scope out their website, call their company and find out how a customer would utilize their services and what they would pay for these services or products.

3.  Pick the business idea that combines a unique twist on a service or product that is in fairly high demand and write a business plan.  A business plan will help you really begin to define how you will take your idea and generate actual profit from your service or product while serving your customer base most effectively.  If you need help writing your business plan you can visit   http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/how-write-business-plan/e

4.  Be willing to evolve and change your business model as needed.  Here is an example of changing a business model.  As a therapist in private practice the only way profit can be generated is trading dollars for hours (if you provide sessions, your earn income).  This can become an exhausting business model because as a therapist, you can only see a certain amount of clients while maintaining excellent service and your own sanity.  A therapist could change their business model by providing educational classes or groups, writing books, workshops and programs, and creating a Group Practice by taking on other therapists (as independent contractors) from whom you receive compensation for group marketing and other benefits.

5.  Before you actually launch your business, research the best way to advertise or market your business.  Different marketing methods work better for service-based businesses than product-based businesses (for example).  Make sure you have a pretty good idea which marketing method will best suit your unique business so you don’t waste time and money creating the most amazing website only to find out no one cares about your website.

There are a number of different factors to consider that I do not have the time or space to cover in this article but there is a lot of wonderful, free information available to you on the internet.

In addition, if you want to cut down on your learning curve, and possibly avoid costly mistakes – seriously consider hiring a business coach who can guide you through the process, ask you the right questions, help you understand your information gaps and how to find the right resources, while supporting you with encouragement and accountability.

When you hit that point where you know you want to start  your own business, create meaningful work that can fit into your schedule and provide for your needs, call me to schedule a complimentary consultation where we can discuss your unique needs, ideas and how to help you start your own business.  My phone number is 760-445-3415, or email Sherry at sherrymft@yahoo.com

We have all heard so much about the importance of having a good self-esteem, but as a therapist, I beg to differ.

What?!  A therapist who does not believe in having good self- esteem?!  Before you navigate away from this article, hear me out.  I believe that having a healthy self-concept is extremely important – and I’ll explain how I am defining and differentiating between self-esteem versus self-worth.

The working definition of self-esteem is as follows: a confidence and satisfaction with oneself, thinking highly of oneself.  Interestingly the dictionary (Merriam Webster online) also lists synonyms and antonyms for “self-esteem”.  The antonyms are: humbleness, humility, modesty.  Two of the synonyms are listed as:  ego and pride.

On the other hand the working definition of self-worth is as follows:  valuing oneself, respecting the fact that you were created with intrinsic value while respecting the intrinsic value of others as well.

In my view, we are to value ourselves while maintaining humbleness.  Self-worth takes into account the value of others as well as that of ourselves, while the way I am using self-esteem here refers to lifting ourselves up above others which feeds our ego and is not a truly healthy self-concept.

Now that I have defined the way I am differentiating between self-esteem and self-worth, I would like to give you 5 practical tips to build your self worth so that you can value yourself while also valuing others.

1.   Know This and Own This:  Intrinsic value comes from the fact that you were “fearfully and wonderfully made” by your Creator (Ps. 139:14).  I believe that God exists outside of time and space (God created time and space) and therefore knew you and designed you before you were even born.  It is a challenging mystery to wrap our minds around, but the more we study the Scriptures, the more we know just how much God loves us and how we came to this earth with unique plans and purposes seeded inside of us.

2.  Discover and Recognize:  actively set out to discover your unique personality traits, skills, gifts, talents, weaknesses and passions/interests.  The more you become acquainted with your unique self, the more you will come to see that there is only one you.  No one else has the exact same combination of these things.  You’ll begin to recognize that you were created to participate in, to support, and to enrich humankind in your own unique way.

3.  Nourish and Build:  nurture your mindset and your beliefs by feeding your mind positive, uplifting thoughts.  Turn away from negative, self-critical and other-critical thoughts.  When we criticize ourselves and others, we are “feeding the wrong dog”.  (The Cherokee story about which dog you feed is the one who grows).  Read information that builds you up, listen to music that enriches and uplifts you, fill your eyes with beautiful colors, shapes, and textures and read other Scriptures about how God has a love-story to tell you (God is in love with you because you are, after all, the Creator’s masterpiece).

4.  Act.  You’ve considered your uniqueness and your value, you discovered and recognized your unique traits, you’ve nourished and built proper mindsets and beliefs, now you must act on it.  To know that you are valuable is one thing, to start acting upon it is another.  One way to start acting on your personal value is to put your unique gifts to use – help others, enrich the world, build up other people so they can also know their own value.

5.  Keep Returning:  to truth.  Don’t let marketing and advertising lead you back down the path of thinking you must look a certain way, smell a certain way or hang out with certain people to be accepted.  Accept yourself unconditionally, faults, foibles, and ALL!  Look out your eyes at all the other people around you and find the preciousness in them as well.  The more you keep reminding yourself of your worth and others’ worth – the more you will strengthen your self-concept.

Having an excellent self-concept helps you serve humankind with confidence, respect, humility and love.  Let your light SHINE!