Margo DeGange's Blog

Wealth, A Strong Business, Friends, and Low Blood Pressure for the Simple Minded!

  Monday Message from Margo   2-1-2010

“It’s a small world but still heavy.  Stop trying to carry it all on your back.”   ~Margo DeGange (Yes, me, that’s right. I can quote things too, ya know!)

Here is a life and business lesson that has nothing to do with products, little to do with numbers, and a lot to do with building real wealth and long-term security.

The word “simple” has been showing up in my life a lot lately. I want to share a few of those instances, so bear with me, because I have an important point in mind that may help you quite a lot.

A very long time ago, my sister had a dream that I often think about. In the dream, she was in a long hallway standing outside of a big courtroom. There were many people standing and sitting in the hall, waiting to go in to see the judge for the final judgment. One by one they would go in, and come out sobbing—both women AND men! After watching this scene play out over and over again, my sister finally asked one of the people who came out of the courtroom, “Why is everyone sobbing?” The answered surprised her as the person replied, “because it was so simple we almost missed it”!

I have recalled that dream many times over the last few days, and then this morning while in my car listening to a talk show, I heard the story of a mother who’s son was dying of cancer. He was at the end of his journey, when his mom got into the bed next to him. She was right beside him as he took his last breath. His final words were powerful, liberating, and sweetly authoritative. “Mom, it’s so simple”. His message changed her life forever.

Then, on that same ride in my car this morning, on another show, someone said, “Life is so short. Why should we live it in turmoil?” Together these words and stories provide a clear (and simple) message that I felt so compelled to share. Live simply!

In our businesses and in our lives, the joy is in the journey (just ask Steven King), and becoming simple-minded is part of a constructive and pleasant ride. Sometimes we get so focused on problems, on scenarios, on results, we miss the in-between, where life and business really happen. We can become too concerned and too intense wrestling with things that really don’t matter much in the long run. What will matter though, in terms of popularity, profits, and plain old peace of mind, is how you use your personal energy, and therefore, how you treat others and yourself.

Simplicity is NOT for wimps. Simplicity has enormous power built right into it. Keeping everything on an even keel, not thinking too hard, and offering a great attitude to everyone you see throughout the day takes unusual strength and deep character, and it is effortless if you let it become your new mindset.

The “thinking too hard” thing gets us in trouble many times, and it makes others uncomfortable, particularly when we expect our colleagues and coworkers, our family and friends, and even worse, our customers,  to “get” what we are all freaked out about.

Keeping it simple also opens you up to the creative energy that is vibrating out in the universe (deep, I know). After exercising at boot camp and taking a long ride this morning, I went home for a few minutes and sat on the sofa, and closed my eyes. I wanted to just “be”, and I was keeping it simple (and not trying to). I drifted off into a cat-nap, and awoke a short time later with a brilliant business offering to provide to my Decorators Alliance members. I did not have to think hard, brainstorm till I was blue, get stressed out, or be in turmoil. The simple life just brought the idea directly to me, with no effort at all, and that idea will no doubt help many others.

Simplicity is actually something that elicits good business practices and the creation of incredible products and services that tend to be very profitable. Simplicity keeps us in a place of clarity, and allows us to move quickly at a moments notice, and change directions in an instant. It also helps keep our blood pressure down, and allows others to easily communicate with us, and willingly be around us.

A lot of stress is self-created and totally unnecessary (although sometimes no one could convince us of that).  Simplicity is an attitude of choosing NOT to be in turmoil about anything. Things may not be ideal, but worrying, or worse, taking it out on customers, associates, and the people you love, cannot change anything in a positive way, yet your good attitude can change your world, and definitely your business, in ways you never even dreamed of. It’s that simple!

Our stress-free life of simplicity (and real power) proves itself in how we treat our co-workers, family and friends—how we honor our bosses and how bosses appreciate the people who work so diligently to build a company that is not even theirs.

Complaining, not seeing the bright side of things (no matter how dismal the circumstances), and being in turmoil make even great moments a drag, and challenging times pretty much unbearable, for everyone, including you.

Stop stressing. Be kind and laid back and SIMPLE, to others as well as to yourself, and watch your life and business burst into true wealth and profitability. People will want to be near you and work for you, and customers will knock themselves out to buy from you. They may even want to have you over for a simple drink!

Have a Wildly Simple Week,

Margo

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Comments February 1, 2010

Honey, Love the Ones You’re With!

Monday Message from Margo    8-17-09     

“Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life  into a golden haze.”      ~Amanda Cross

A handful of premium customers at-a-time (in any given day, week, month) is better than droves of average buyers. If you can’t get all of the customers you THINK you want, “honey, love the ones you’re with”.

If you owned a small, chic, and fabulous gourmet restaurant that offered exceptional cuisine and fine wines, where people were encouraged to linger, and if you had 30 tables to fill during an evening for dinner (and you set that table number based on your table turnaround time, your price points, and your projected profit margins), then as long as all 30 tables were filled throughout the night, you could in a sense rest easy as you focus all of your efforts on impressing and WOW-ing those 30 tables of customers.

What you probably would not do is run out into the street and call people in for dinner (though that might not be a bad idea on one of those wild hair nights—just for the novelty and fun of it, but that’s another message)! You wouldn’t need to, because as long as you had 30 tables full, you would already have all of the people you need to meet your sales goals for the night (as long as you attended to them and properly romanced them). More importantly, if you had more than 30 tables worth of people in a given night, you would have no place to comfortably seat everyone, people would be rushed and couldn’t savor their exceptional wine and all of the extra delicacies your wait staff suggested to them, and the service would undoubtedly take a dive as servers and hostesses scurried to deal with the overflow.

I think a lot of people try to market to the masses—to get more and more customers that they cannot amazingly serve. Don’t get caught up on numbers. If you want to have a great business selling premium products and services to people who really appreciate the value of those products and services, you must have a different focus.

When I was doing design full time (and coaching only on the side), if I would have had too few customers, I would not have made a substantial living, but yet if I had too many, I would not have had a wonderful career either, because I would have been way too stressed and too tired for myself, my friends, and my family, and I would have been a raging maniac (and still on occasion, I was)! I learned during my brilliant career in decorating and design that there was a special number of clients (NOT simply LEADS, but paying customers) each month (or each week if you break it down) that I should have in order to have maximum profitability for myself and exceptional products and services for my clients.

That meant I had enough customers to make a great income, but not so many that I cheated them out of my full attention, or left sales on the table, or spent my days discouraged and exhausted (and by the way Decorators’ Alliance Members,  I will be making this program available to you soon in the e-learning library).

Some people would be surprised at how low that miracle number of customers actually was, and it was low because with fewer customers I had more time to sell the amazing add-ons (like that fine wine) to the discerning people who most wanted and valued them. They were pampered (and I was too), and my customers absolutely loved it.

So this week, stop stressing about all of the customers you DON’T have. Focus diligently on the ones you DO have. If you have NONE, call up a few former customers and ask them how they are doing, and how they are enjoying the services or products you provided to them in the past. Quit thinking you need more, more, more (you do need some, though)! Do what you have to do in order to reach YOUR miracle number of customers to put you at a good balance of very good profits and always welcome sanity, with enough free time to enjoy your life and success.

Spoil your clientele, no matter how few. Sell premium products and add-ons that people value, and If you can’t get all of the customers you THINK you want, “honey, love the ones you’re with”.

Have a wildly successful week,

Margo

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Comments August 17, 2009