Posts Tagged ‘Smart Women’s Cafe’

We recently asked you, “What’s the single biggest Challenge holding you back from living Your Perfect Life?” and this is what over 200 of you have told us:

• 32% Financial
• 22% Don’t Know Where to Start
• 12% Confidence
• 10% Time
• 7% Relationships
• 3% Health
• 14% Other

There were quite a few comments (one out of four of you wanted to tell your story) and here are a few of them:

• I am searching for a new career and desperately want to make that change now that I am unemployed and available to make that change.
• I need to make enough money through my business to negate my husband’s dream for me to go back to work!
• Up until I lost my job in 2007 I considered myself a “smart woman”, although finances are considerably low, my biggest challenge is how to tap into a realm of creativity. It seems I have lost my passion and/or motivation to get going again.
• After 23 years of raising my sons, getting my masters, and working 19 years with autistic children, I am ready to make my own dreams and business happen. I read your steps to success and go strong, but then burn myself out with energy and money by second guessing everything I do. If I had a mentor to help with decisions, ideas, marketing, and business, it would make my finances, time, and confidence become assets to my dreams and realities.
• My biggest challenge is self-sabotage and pragmatism. I focus more on perfection rather than “just doing it.”
• I have an amazing business that I can’t focus on doing because I work a 9-5 during the day!
• Not enough time in the day to act on all my ideas… even the prioritized ones.
• I often don’t feel I can do it. My perfect life involves starting a jewelry business and then moving to NM to live on a ranch.
• Life transitions in 2004 left me at ground zero with no savings, property, pension, home or other resources. I know where I want to be and what my goals are but need support, help and resources to get there because I cannot do it alone.
• Difficulties with family relationships and life transitions – Lack of Clarity, support and finances hold me back. I have been trying for a year, but nothing seems to be shifting. I do not do well without human live support i.e. online courses/business building or network marketing.
• I know that my life does not have to be as hectic as it is. I am looking to learn to let go, and focus on what is most important!

What I am hearing from you is that finances or money and then knowing where to start are your number one priorities. I read the “other” comments, and they were primarily financial and knowing where to start as well. So, what do you do about this? This is exactly why I created the Smart Women’s Café.

When I was a financial planner, I worked with hundreds of wealthy individuals. I had no time left to help those who needed help getting started and creating financial security.Today, I am honored to have attracted some of the most amazing financial, business, career, and lifestyle experts in the word to join me in this mission of helping women create their perfect life with purpose, passion and prosperity.

The Smart Women’s Café is the perfect place to do this because it is a supportive and interactive community where women can learn, grow and connect by accessing resources at their own leisure in the member library. Plus, we offer three hours of live coaching and training every month.

These statistics were not that surprising to see. Right now, the need for financial planning assistance, whether it be in the small-business environment, schooling or household maintenance has sky-rocketed as a direct result of our economy. You are not alone. 33% of American’s carry debt balances up to $10,000 (median balance: $2,254). 64% of the people polled who carry debt admitted that debt is a cause of worry and stress for them. 93% percent of retirees carry debt into old age.

Finance troubles affects your path to the Perfect Life everyday. These worries can cause a ripple effect on everything else, which may have caused 22% percent of people surveyed to respond with, “not knowing where to start.”

Vist the Smart Women’s Cafe now to receive your Free Gifts: Video Training on how to maximize Twitter and Brian Tracy’s Report, The Way to Wealth ($100 value). You can also take a 30 day free test drive of our community of smart women and access free, live coaching, resources and support towards living with Purpose, Passion and Prosperity.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our poll! Sharing your thoughts with us was great appreciated. A national press release will be released this week, documenting your concerns.

Looking back over the last 25 years, it’s exciting to see how far we have come as women. I was watching Meet the Press on Sunday and was thrilled to learn about the new report just released by Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress called, A Woman’s Nation, showing that women now make up 50 percent of the workforce and are the primary breadwinners for the family. (Four out of ten women are the primary breadwinners, while an astonishing 62.8 percent are “co-breadwinners.”)

We have been aware of these issues here at Smart Women’s Coaching and invite you to participate in our poll by telling us, “What is the Single Biggest Challenge Holding you Back from Living Your Perfect Life?”

In fact, we are just now launching our new Free Video Training and invite you to sign upto receive your free Twitter training video and Brian Tracy’s free report, The Way to Wealth.

The Smart Women’s Café is a forum where women can receive live coaching on their most pressing issues related to life balance, finances, time management and creating lifetime passive income while following your passion. Visit the Café now to learn what’s new!

As a woman that specializes in finance, I find answers in numbers. To me, statistics can say a lot about an issue. So this month’s theme, Making a Difference: A Smarter Approach to Philanthropy, made me question how many people in America contribute to the greater good. My findings pleasantly surprised me. According to the “Giving and Volunteering in the United States Survey,” 89 percent of households give on an annual basis. Actually, the average annual contribution for contributors was $1,620 in 2008.

How do you give back to your community? What kinds of emotions are evoked when one is charitable? The interesting thing is, happiness and giving are directly related to each other. One of the longest-running social-science studies on happiness began in the 1920s, in Oakland, California. An astonishing 90 percent of the 200 studied have stayed participating in the survey, offering insight into what exactly a “happy life” is. According to psychologist and researcher Paul wink, one of the MAIN elements is generativity, the ability to give to others.

I have found this to be true, through my career, into retirement and now in my personal life. That’s why when I created the Smart Women’s Café, I didn’t just want to create a business. I wanted to create a resource of aid to a community of women that have nowhere else to turn. August’s fundraiser to support the organization HAVEN was a success. We presented HAVEN with $1,000 and we will soon award four women a $1,500 scholarship each, along with the support of a life coach for one year, free of cost.

International charities are a wonderful option too. Just this past Tuesday I interviewed Humanitarian and Founder of Village Empowerment, Don Smith, on Smart Women Talk Radio. Don’s mission is to help solve the problems of starvation and crime in the poorest regions of Africa. Food shortages occur on a very constant annual basis, predominately in September and October, according to Don. If you’d like to donate or learn more about Village Empowerment, please visit www.VillageEmpowerment.org. Stay tuned to this month’s weeklynewsletters (click the hyperlink to be added to our mailing list) to find out different ways on how YOU can help.

If you’re interested in travel, the Smart Women’s Coaching program and Gutsy Women Travel are joining forces to bring you a 9-day retreat to Costa Rica in January! Scroll down to read more about it!

Please tell me what are you doing to tie your purpose to your passion and prosperity?  Thank you!

As you may know, I was in Brazil for the last three weeks on an education retreat.  It was a wonderful experience and I have created new friends from all over the world:  Dubai, Hamburg, Belgium, Sweden.  It was amazing to me how many of these individuals were heading off to more time off trekking in other parts of South America for another 30 days or so.  We Americans really don’t take enough time off.  Do you know that it is mandatory to take time off regularly in many European countries?  Their employees are encouraged to talk multiple weeks off at a time too.

All I can say is that it was wonderful having time off for almost 3 weeks in August.  How many of us never make time for ourselves to really rest and rejuvenate?

What did I learn in Brazil?

I really learned how to relax and to be a person…to really have conversations on non work related topics, to sit an contemplate nature for hours at a time, to eat three sit-down meals with stimulating conversations, to eat really healthy and take long, long walks in the woods, beaches and quaint, resort fishing towns.  Today, before starting my day, I am going for a long bike ride where I can be in nature and get the blood flowing to my brain.  My goal is to stay in the state of rejuvenation.  I will also be joining a yoga class two mornings a week.  What simple actions can you take to create more balance and joy in your life?

Update on our event:

I returned home with just one day to prepare for a fundraiser for the HAVEN.  It was interesting; I just trusted my team and my husband to make sure everything would work out perfect, and guess what…it did!

Last Saturday at 5 pm, our home began to fill up with wonderful supporters.  As our guests entered our home, they were welcomed by the sound of soft live jazz with DSO trumpet, Bill Lucas and some of the top jazz players in the country.

Thanks to Jill Jordan and Barb Kopacs we had a very successful silent auction.  I had decided to cater myself, and between my husband’s awesome shopping, some generous food and wine donations and our terrific kitchen staff, not only did we have a wonderful concert on the lake, but we were able to raise some nice funds for both HAVEN and our foundation—The Smart Women’s Empowerment Program.

In addition, we are giving $1000 in cash to the HAVEN, plus awarding four women who have come through HAVEN a $1,500 scholarship each along with the support of a personal mentor/coach.  Next week, we will announce the four mentor/coaches who have volunteered for this wonderful project.

Take Time to Dance! By the way last night, just as the sun was setting, my husband, Mark and I  were picking up the yard from the event while listening to Bill Lucas’ promo CD with some of the   music from Saturday’s concert.  It was so beautiful, that we decided to take just one more dance as   the sunset.  Remember…take some time to enjoy the music!  Life is too short and it’s meant to be enjoyed and savored!

Thank you to all who supported us!  Again, we want to thank our sponsors Bill Fox Chevrolet, Fleming’s Steak House and the Seed Foundation for their generous support as well as our support team; Agatha Wolkowicz and Megan Russett who helped make the event happen.  If you are interested in learning more about supporting Smart Women’s Empowerment or the HAVEN, please feel free to email me at katana@smartwomenscoaching.com

Ever worry about losing your luggage when travelling abroad? Well, part of planning your trip should include these few simple tips:

Pack enough basics in a carry on — so you can survive just in case your main baggage doesn’t arrive.

Purchase baggage delay insurance — I suggest American Express so you can spend $500 on necessities until your luggage arrives.

Keep an inventory of what you originally packed in your main luggage.

Update to my trip to Brazil:

It’s day 10 and my luggage still has not arrived.  In fact, Delta has no idea where it is, so I have asked them to send it to my home when they do find it.

The night before I left for Brazil, I purchased Baggage Delay insursurnce with my American Express Platiunum Card.  This was reassuring, because as soon as I arrived and found that my suitcase was missing, I stopped in town on the way to my Pousada (bed and breakfast) and purchased several clothing and personal items that I needed for my trip.  I made a quick trip to the local mall and picked up jeans, walking shoes, socks, toiletries, sweaters, etc. 

My next task will be to file a claim with Delta, and then American Express to be reimbursed for the items in my main suitcase.

Due to smart packing and planning for the unexpected, my vaction is turning out wonderful! 

Could you still enjoy yourself if your luggage never arrived for your three week vacation?  Visit me in our new online community and create your free profile at www.smartwomenscafe.com   or email me at katana@smartwomenscafe.com