Wednesday Inspiration #17

Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them. -Orison Swett Marden

Most of us have at least one person in our lives that has been waiting for that perfect opportunity to do or have what they really want. The girlfriend who has always wanted to start her own business and has been waiting for a financial windfall to give her the perfect set up. The uncle who always wanted to go back to school but has been waiting until till he found a job with more flexible hours. The brother who has dreamed for years of working for a particular company but is waiting until he hears they are hiring again. Or the person in your network that has been waiting for years to be promoted to the next level and is sure it will happen when the current person in that role leaves.

It is a dangerous defeating trap to believe that our opportunities depend solely on time, people or circumstance creating the window we need. Especially when we hold the keys to unlocking opportunity. If opportunity seems to be passing you by, start with changing what you are thinking and saying about the opportunity you need. Then start talking to people about what you want to do – and make sure you are talking to the right people. The right people are those that will hear you, support you and can help you connect with the information or other people you need. Turn over every stone and explore every trail – especially the ones that seem less conventional.

Challenge: What opportunity will you create today for yourself? For others?

As “The Career Makeover Coach”, Tai Goodwin is on a mission to help ambitious individuals reinvent their professional lives by centering on their passion and purpose. Holding as a core belief that we are all called to divine purpose and gifted with a unique passion, Tai uses a results driven, spiritually grounded approach to help clients create career paths to support the lifestyle they desire. Whether it’s helping people go from embittered to empowered professionals or making the transition from employee to entrepreneur, Tai is committed to helping clients tap into their own potential for brilliance. Tai has been empowering others through teaching and coaching for over 14 years. A gifted and insightful communicator, Tai holds a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Drexel University and a Master of Science in Education from Capella University. She has completed ASTD’s (American Society for Training and Development) Coaching Certificate program and is pursuing professional coaching certification through the International Coach Academy. Originally from Philadelphia, Tai currently lives in Delaware with her daughter. She is currently working on her first book: Reclaiming Your Brilliance: Seven Ways to Take Your Life from Bright to Brilliant.

Web site: http://www.careermakeovercoach.com

When I first went into business for myself, I was confident that I had the marketing tactics my clients needed. I was also confident that I would learn to be a strategic advisor. What I didn’t realize was that I did not have confidence that I would be able to run my own business. The biggest challenge is that I didn’t even know it!

Nonetheless, I pounded the pavement and successfully landed several clients within just a few months. I was pleased with my progress, but couldn’t help but notice that at every networking event I attended, I was hit on by men. I even had several male clients who were hitting on me while we worked together. I was alarmed: I wanted to be taken seriously … as a serious professional! I immediately decided that I didn’t look “serious” or “professional” enough.

I made a list – How to look more professional:

• Buy some fake eyeglasses
• Learn how to style a classy chignon
• Buy some business suits that made me look frumpy

Needless to say, the above list did not actually solve my problem. Instead, I realized that the trouble was not in how I dressed on the outside, but how I felt about myself on the inside. As a business owner and a professional, I was not confident, and my clients and prospects (and the men at networking events) could sense my vulnerability.

In fact, I learned that most people in business will admit that their greatest fear is that they will be exposed for not being as smart/professional/sophisticated as other people think they are. This comes not from the fact that we are not smart/professional/sophisticated, but that we don’t believe that we are.

Thus, I created a new list – How to build confidence in my professional abilities:

• Keep a list of all of my professional successes – big and small
• Keep a list documenting anytime someone says something positive about my professional abilities
• Before any event or meeting at which I will meet clients or prospects, review the above lists and remember that I am in fact smart/professional/sophisticated
• Do my homework before meetings and events so that I know who will be there and what is important to them so that I can speak confidently about those subjects

It worked! I stopped getting hit upon at every networking event, and discovered that I can do more to impact how people perceive me by tweaking my inside than I can by tweaking the outside.

Of course, I must admit …when an optometrist found that I had a very slight vision problem, I still jumped at the opportunity to get glasses

Being a single mom and still providing for yourself or your children can be a very stressful and frustrating experience. There are many problems in finances for single moms and loans for single moms but getting help isn’t always easy so there are some services you should be aware of.

Education loans can be very tough to pay back, should you have debts remaining on your student loans. This may force many moms to consolidate their payments, which will put them into debt for 10-30 years, but allow them to keep out of bankruptcy longer. If you have children who wish to obtain student loans, and you are a single mother, it is harder to get such loans for a few reasons. First, women usually make less money than men. If you are a single mom, you don’t have a partner’s help with income, and also learn less than a man would. You are also less likely to have enough collateral to prove that you can pay the loans back, and you are more likely to have previous debts to pay. Education loans and single moms obviously do not mix well together, as you can see.

Like education loans, automobile and home loans operate in the same manner. You are more likely to be rejected for a house rather than an apartment, since houses on average cost much more. Automobiles also put single moms at a disadvantage- since automobiles often break down, requiring more money be spent. This makes the odds that a single mother can pay back a loan less likely, as maintenance can eat up much of a single mother’s income.

Business loans are another subject that may cause single mothers to have trouble obtaining loans. This is increasingly harder than other loans, since businesses are extremely risky operations. The odds of maintaining a successful business is usually quite low for small business owners. Having sufficient collateral is again a problem with single mothers, forcing many to not get the needed business loans to start their own business. Single mothers usually have a lower credit score, since they incur more debts than other couples or single men on average. This will also lead to a lesser chance of getting approved by credit card companies, making the buying power of single mothers even more burdensome.

However, there are ways to influence or take advantage of situations in favor of single mothers. You may speak with the Department of Social Services for things such as welfare, food stamps, child support, medical programs, and child care assistance. These programs can be found in phone books, government agencies or on this website. There is a lot of paperwork to apply, and the waiting time can be very long. The wait is often worth it, since single moms need all the help they can get.

School lunch and breakfast programs should be taken advantage of. This is a federal program that gives reduced prices or even free lunches and breakfast to kids who attend school, and eat at the school. Other grants can help you in funding for food or even gas and heating bills. Churches often have programs to help as well, and you should explore all of these options for a better life for children a single mom may have. Reduced prescriptions and free counseling are also available to those who apply- so make sure you take advantage of such offers to the fullest.

When looking to improve your credit score, you should have family members or roommates split bills, and put some bills in your name. This will improve your dependability and credit rating. Also make sure that you stay away from penalties such as bounced checks, which can effectively ruin your credit. Doing this will eventually raise your credit score enough to gain some respect among loan specialists, which can bring you to a new step above where you previously were.

When you have better access to loans, you can get lower rates. You can better obtain a business loan, for example, with your improved credit rating. You may also co-sign loans with family members to add credit to your score- and regular payments will again boost it. In case you can not make a payment, the money is then billed to your family member- so either way the bank will most likely get its money. This is the best way to obtain a loan if you are not qualified enough, and doing so is one of the best ways to improve your credit.

Over all, single moms are at a disadvantage. Statistically, they will make less money and not qualify for loans. They will also have more poor living experiences, and will have less buying power. Following the previous steps will allow single moms to achieve a better way of life for them or their children, regardless of their standing in society’s hierarchy.

The goal of SingleMomFinancialHelp.com is to help women change the world through information and education. We are creating a support structure through which all women of the world can educate one another about where they have been, where they are right now and where they are going. With help from our site and the information and articles we distribute women will be more educated in finance, business, home matters, relationships, career and higher education.