5 Questions With: Dr. Kisane Slaney

Posted June 7, 2010, 10:22 am in 5 Questions With

What is your business? If you're not sure, you're not alone. Dr. Kisane Slaney is passionate about helping "newbie" women entrepreneurs figure out exactly what to do to find success and happiness in the business world! See what she says about her own journey of Growing Bolder in this edition of 5QW.

1. You say this book is a resource for people who have gotten hit by the online marketing tsunami. How did you determine that this is a problem for so many people, and why are you so passionate about trying to help?

In March this year, one of the top online Gurus asked people to share their ‘war stories’ about their experience of overwhelm -- what I call the Online Marketing Tsunami -- when engaged in online marketing.

He got nearly 2,000 responses!

Amazing! It really proved the point! So many people were saying how overwhelm brought them to a grinding halt, ‘flatlining’, and many were on the point of giving up.

Overwhelm is an online marketing industry challenge, but then it too often leads to procrastination which then becomes a personal challenge.

Overwhelm is something that is constantly brought up as an issue in the training program that I belong to, especially when people first see all the training available and realize how much they need to learn in order to have a successful online business!

Overwhelm was also the subject of a video on the blog of a top female marketer a couple of week ago (link here). She was saying how virtually every woman she spoke to at her recent seminar was saying that their major challenge was trying to deal with the mass of information and tasks required to build their businesses. Add to that the time needed to run a household and look after a family and they were feeling really exhausted. Work/life balance is another huge challenge, but that’s another story!

I have spent a lot of time reflecting on what exactly is my passion – what is it that infuses my business? I absolutely love teaching and initially I thought that was it. However, after more reflection I realized that what I am most passionate about is ‘sharing’!

By teaching, I am sharing my knowledge with people who can then use the knowledge gained for their self-empowerment. By being an active member of online communities, I get to share videos and resources that will help others in their online journey. As a coach, I get to share in the most exciting thing of all, the bringing into reality of entrepreneurial dreams!

2. How have you used these tips in your own life, both personally and professionally?

In my eBook, I describe how to take control of our e-mail inbox! I followed the steps exactly myself and reduced my e-mails from 1,040 down to one! It took me about 4 weeks to do it, setting up my folders and sub-folders, etc., but I did it! It has made an enormous difference in terms of time management and in terms of my sense of being in control of my e-mails rather than my inbox overwhelming me!

I have also created an exercise at the end of my eBook that enables people to not only end the week on a high, but also provides them with a resource they then have available when they come to write blog posts, articles or even send tweets. For example, one of the things that people record is the ‘new thing’ that they learned that week. This can later become the subject of a post or even a training video. I now use this resource myself and it is a winner, even if I do say so myself!

3. What do you think the biggest obstacle is for most people who are thinking of starting their own business? What advice do you have for someone who is fearful of taking that first step?

I think for baby boomers, one of the biggest perceived obstacles is the lack of computer skills. Here, my suggestion would be to join a program where students go through ‘click-by-click’ online training. When following webinars (online seminars) that do this, where the participant can open a second window and follow along, pausing the training webinar whenever they need to catch up, the learning process is very rapid.

I think the second major obstacle is lack of confidence and fear of not being good enough. This can very quickly lead into procrastination and it is an issue I address in my eBook.

Two key players when procrastination gets a grip are ‘Perfectionist’ and ‘What ifs’. For example: “What if I’m not perfect at this keyword, SEO stuff and make a complete hash of it? I’m so worried I’m going to look like a total loser and let myself down, big time.”

I offer different strategies in my eBook and here I would also suggest that having a coach when building an online business is a wonderful resource, especially at the beginning. It is terrific knowing that there is someone who is 100 percent there for you and will be there to support you whilst moving through the challenges that we all face whilst building an online business.

4. What are you most proud of, personally and professionally?

Personally, I am most proud of being ‘mom’ to my four children and then, after being an ‘at-home/full-time’ mom for 15 years, going on to University as a mature-age student. I studied through to gaining my Ph.D., whilst also working, and then subsequently lecturing at university, in the field of counselling.

Professionally, I am proud that in my sixties I have been able to make the transition from being an Academic, to being an online entrepreneur! It has been one of the most stimulating and creative periods of my life, not to mention the most fun!

5. What does the philosophy of Growing Bolder mean to you?

To me, growing bolder means being enthusiastic, passionate, about what we want to be doing in our lives, embracing uncertainty and being prepared to fight, if necessary, for what we believe in.

It means recognizing that there is a major shift in progress away from the twentieth century competitive, ‘there’s me and then there’s me’ approach, to one that embraces a sense of abundance and sharing and caring.

In building our own business, it also means becoming so comfortable with whom we are, so aware, that we have no difficulty in ‘being’ our personal brand and putting ourselves ‘out there’!

Dr. Kisane Slaney's e-book is available here. You can also connect with her on Twitter or e-mail her at kisane@drkisane.com.

© 2006-2012. Growing Bolder Media Group. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.