Strategies and Tactics for Women by Dr. Shannon Reece

If you are new to this blog, then you may not have a complete picture of me or what I do, and that’s okay.

To help you out, and to answer some of the questions you might have about my signature program, The Refresh-Her Challenge, that just launched, this post will definitely shed some light on things.

Finance expert and President of Small Business Finance Forum , Nicole Fende, honored me by being one of the Founding Members in The Refresh-Her Challenge, and she has a unique perspective on the deliverables, given that financial ROI is her business specialty.  Who doesn’t want to know whether their time and effort in a peak performance training program was well spent?!

Following the end of the inaugural launch of The Refresh-Her Challenge in January, I asked Nicole to answer some questions about her experiences, and she’s given me permission to share them with you.

When you first heard about The Refresh-Her Challenge, what motivated you to join the program?

“Knowing you through the Wednesday Workout. I enjoy and respect your knowledge and insights that you share during your mentorship hour.”

Having participated in The Refresh-Her Challenge, what specific benefits and positive changes have you experienced in your life and business?

“I’m MUCH more aware of work-life balance and simple easy techniques to make it better. I have a better understanding of how to address certain fears, I have been able to create tools to optimize my day, and I found a mentor and an accountability partner! It was the bargain of the century.”

What was your favorite part of The Challenge?

“That’s hard, so many good parts. I think the Post Its exercise!”

For those who have no idea about the Post It’s, can you tell us about that?

“Part of the program addresses the negative voices in your head.  This exercise involved creating a list of positive statements about all aspects of your life. Then you were to write them on Post It notes and put them in highly visible places around your home and office.  While I felt silly at the beginning, I realized it was actually an awesome exercise.  They are still up and I still love reading them.”

Because I want to give our readers a complete snapshot of the program, what was your least favorite part of The Challenge?

“Some of the financial goals section, however that was more because I’ve already done it. Since the program is so comprehensive, you are bound to find one section or topic in your comfort zone.”

What parts of The Challenge we most valuable to you and why?

“I’ve always struggled with work / life balance.  Add in a family, including a toddler, and the struggle escalates quickly.  The Challenge provided me with practical tools I could implement over time.  It also was the catalyst to selectively outsource, get a mentor and find an accountability partner (we just call it our check in call).  While I was afraid to let go, in the end this process freed up my time and propelled my productivity.”

If you could modify the Challenge, what would you add, delete, change?

“Add a forum. I would love to be able to interact on a daily basis with other participants. Especially over certain lessons.  And split it into two courses, lengthen the time or both. I felt very rushed during the Challenge (to get everything done in 30 days), and a bit overwhelmed at times. That was frustrating.”

You’ll be very pleased to know that a Forum was the first addition, I’ve expanded the content, and instead of trying to cram it all into 30 days, it will run over 12 weeks, giving women a lot more time to digest and apply the lessons.

What were your expectations going into The Challenge, and how did the program meet or fall short of them?

“My expectation was that I would learn something useful.  The Refresh-Her Challenge far exceeded my initial expectations.  It had a direct impact on my life and business for the better.”

That’s music to my ears!

If you were to describe The Refresh-Her Challenge to a friend, client or colleague, what would you tell them about it?

“Overloaded? Frustrated? Need a way to recharge AND grow your business at the same time. This is it. Sign up now.”

Before you started The Challenge, what were some of the struggles/challenges you were, or were not aware of, that are no longer an issue for you?

“While many have called me fearless, I was afraid to fail.  That was actually a barrier to growth because it caused me to work excessively, and shy away from outsourcing because ‘who could do it as well as me?’.  Tackling that fear, and discovering a pro-active approach to creating an informal network of supporters and mentors have allowed me to move forward.”

What is the biggest challenge you are still facing now, and how do you believe what you learned will assist you in tackling them?

“Work / life balance will always be a challenge for me. I am naturally a workaholic, so I must use the tools I learned every day to fight that.”

Finally, how does The Refresh-Her Challenge continue to deliver tangible ROI for you?

“Here is just one example.  I had been struggling with the best way to revamp my ad campaign for the small business eCourse I offer. I just couldn’t seem to identify the key ‘pain point’ or reason why someone would initially consider my course.  (Hey I’m a numbers girl, not a marketing guru!).  I was sharing this with my check-in buddy, we discussed it and by the end of the call I had the answer.  Early testing has indicated this is spot on.  The ROI value on just that one breakthrough would be through the roof. ”

Thank you, Nicole for sharing your candid thoughts about The Refresh-Her Challenge, and your experiences in and out of it!

For more information about the program and some of Nicole’s great insights into it, don’t miss my interview with her, called Attitude Asset, this week on her Blog Talk Radio show.

If you are interested in finding out more about the program, and some of the strategies you will learn, be sure to check out my free video series at www.Refresh-Her.com.