Marta Goertzen

Ideas are not enough, what are you going to do about them?

February 14, 2012 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

I’m a girl with lots of ideas, and I mean lots.

I could brainstorm and tell you all things I’m gonna do for hours. As we talk, new ideas will catch my interest and we will head down a few tangents during the conversation. To me to this exciting. This is the stuff that being an entrepreneur is all about, the creative energy of coming up with ideas.

But, uhm, well… then reality hits and, yep ideas only get you so far. Ideas are great, wonderful, energizing, but they don’t pay the bills. What pays the bills is taking those ideas and actually doing something with them. Wow, crazy idea huh!?

I know it, you know it, we all know it. In reality, how many of us actually take that extra step and go from idea to action and then complain that things are not going as expected?

Why is this transition from idea to action so dang hard? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encouragement, Entrepreneur, Retreats

Seasons of Change

February 9, 2012 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Marta Goertzen

I love the fall. Here in Oregon it is one of the most beautiful seasons we have. Brilliant colors with warm late summer evenings that start to cool off as we head into winter. Winter tends to be cloudy, gray, wet with occasional bursts of glorious sunshine.

It’s during the winter that I tend to withdrawal, dig in and put the nose to the grindstone. This past couple of months that season started out just the same, but in the back 0f my mind there was the notion that something was going to change. What I kept thinking was that all I needed to do was to get through this season, then come up for air, take a look around and make some new course corrections.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, support and encouragement make ALL the difference.

The idea this time was that change was possible and that this time I had the support to make it happen. This time is that I have had my Board of Directors group to help me out. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encouragement, Entrepreneur, Vision Tagged With: Board of Directors, Oregon Seasons

Asking For Help is Hard To Do –Why?

February 7, 2012 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Microsoft Images

When is the last time you reach out and asked for help for you and your business?

Okay, maybe I should qualify that question a bit better. When is the last time you asked for help from your spouse, kids, siblings or close friends? And if you asked someone from this list, how many were the best source to go to for help?

While close friends and family are many times our biggest fans and supporters, they are also usually the one who have the least amount of experience related to or what you are trying to do or understand.

Don’t take me wrong here, support from friends and family is essential and without it we won’t get far. But, they are rarely the best source for advice on a business decision. That should come from someone who has “been there done that” or “is doing it”.

Why we don’t ask for help

#1) I can’t find anyone to ask: Finding the type of person we are talking about here is an issue. Here is the Catch 22, if you don’t put yourself out there, you are not going to connect and find the right person or group. Reaching out, putting yourself out there and connecting with others is the only way to find the right resource. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entrepreneur Tagged With: Andy Traub, Free Agent Underground

Retreat, Retreat!

January 26, 2012 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

When was the last time you retreated from your business?

Does the very thought make you panic?

Does it make you go, “Ugh, no way, never, nope, it’s just not possible!”

Yeah, I think we all are like that… which tells me something, it is more important then ever to get this into your routine.

Let’s take a closer look at the word retreat.

Here are a few definitions worth considering.

A place of privacy or safety
An act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable
Safe haven, place of rest

Now that doesn’t sound so terrible right? When we are practically shouted at in our email inbox or in the media to “Go, Go, Go!”, the thought of retreating seems wrong. But, then again, in our go-full-speed ahead culture, a safe haven sounds kind of nice.

In future posts we will dive deeper into this idea of retreating as part of your business plan and part of a regular routine in your schedule, but for now, I would like to look at ways you can retreat right now without taking a ton of time away from your business. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Retreats

You have a vision for your business… now what?

January 11, 2012 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

When was the last time you sat down and really, truly examined the vision you have for your business?

Oh right, probably a week ago on January 1st!

Now that you have done that, what are you going to do to really connect with that vision? Claim it, make it your own and keep it front and center?

If you looked at it on January 1st, did you look at it again?
Did you put on your calendar a regular time to look at that vision?
Do you remember to check the items on your to-do-list, the things you said yes to, decisions you are making, against that vision? Are they helping you bring that vision to life or distracting you?

If not, you are not alone! It is something we don’t automatically think of. We spent some time, or a lot of time, in reflection and wrote out the vision, (I, uhm, sorry, have to ask, but you did write it out, right??? ) stuck it in your business planning binder and then… what?

What do you do with that vision once it is down on paper? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vision

Before You Start Your Business….

December 9, 2011 By Marta Goertzen 2 Comments

The Entrepreneur's Journey Seems like every where you turn someone is starting a side business or launching head-first into a new opportunity in order to follow a dream or to meet a need after being downsized.

Mobile technology has opened doors to make it even easier to work from home or even the park on a sunny day. Pretty cool if you ask me. That is the good part. The bad part is that because it is so much easier, people are jumping in head first without considering a few things.

1) The big one… being an entrepreneur is about journey and not necessarily about a destination. Sure we have goals of being self-employed or of owning a business and what this business will be about or do… but what we tend to miss or conveniently forget, is that it is a journey.

This journey is hard, fun, downright frightening, exhilarating, challenging, it has fun parts, frustrating parts, rewarding parts… I could go on but you get the idea. Each of these descriptors describe the twists and turns in the road that take us from where we are, to where we want to be. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entrepreneur, Vision

3 Reasons to slow down and take a step back from your business

June 20, 2011 By Marta Goertzen 4 Comments

One of the core messages of The Blue Jeans Experience is the idea of slowing down and taking a step back, probably will be something that is addressed a lot. I know I need to hear it and need reminders and I know you do too.

As entrepreneurs we do not take the time to step back from our businesses nearly enough, in fact I think it is a disease and a problem. It has become a badge of honor in running 100 mph, 24/7, 365 days a year. When it has become something to brag about you know it has become a problem, for some of us it is probably a carry-over from our corporate jobs.

In fact, I think the idea of not being able to take time off from your business is a mindset issue. It shows that you are thinking like an employee and not like the entrepreneurial leader you are and should be.

On the other end of this spectrum is the idea of, how little can I work and still make money so I can live on the beach, play and take my family on expensive vacations. When you are working your fingers to the bone – the “how little can I work” idea is very attractive and that is usually when we fall for it and buy that product that promises in “1-hour a week you too can make millions”.

Truth is, reality is somewhere in the middle. Yes there are days that you may need to only work 1 hour a day to maintain and run your business but then there are days you may need to work 10, 12, 14 hours to get client work done and run the business. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Entrepreneur

3 Reading Sources for Motivation & Inspiration for the No Good Snarky Day

May 31, 2011 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

Read, read and read some more

When you are having a “snarky” day, when you need a dose of inspiration, or when you have a great need for an infusion of creativity injected straight into the blood stream – reading is an awesome thing. Here are 3 resources for your reading pleasure.

1) Blogs, Blogs and More Blogs

How many blogs are you subscribed too? How many unread posts are sitting in your email or RSS reader? There is a wealth of information there just waiting for you to tap into it. If you are like most of us, there are only so many hours in the day and not enough time to read it all, and still get your work done.

There are some blogs that you make time for, the ones that consistently give you what you are looking for, encouragement, brilliant ideas, a thought provoking question, tips and techniques for your most recent project, or that aha moment that moves you from stuck to unstuck. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Inspiration, Self Employed

Step away from the desk

May 31, 2011 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

Get Moving!

Photo Credit: Legley

One of my best thinking times is when I am out walking the dog in the morning. We walk all over town at least 30-40 minutes. This gets the blood pumping, gets us outdoors and helps me relax into the day. On the weekends we usually head out to the park so he can run around and sniff to his hearts content and I can walk in the beautiful trees of the forest area in the “back-40”. Go early enough and you may see only one or 2 people. That is something I would love to do even more.

You should check out the Trail Talk videos from Justin Lukasavige, he does the same thing on Friday afternoon’s.

1) The Art of the Stretch: If you have been at your desk for hours on end, like most solo entrepreneurs are, it is time to get up, have a big stretch. (Note… sound effects help with the big stretches). Have you ever watched your dog or your cat do one of those head to tip of tail stretches? Legs stretching out front and back as far as they can go – yep that is the kind of stretch I’m talking about.

2) Move Around – Do Something Else: Then it is time to move around, get the blood pumping again, swing your arms, rotate your neck around and most importantly… STEP AWAY FROM THE DESK. This is so hard to do when you are on a roll and things are going well but there is that magic point between where you are doing well and you are about ready to crash. Learn to recognize that point, anticipate it and work around it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Encouragement

When your day goes wonky – Part 2

May 29, 2011 By Marta Goertzen Leave a Comment

Fight Back a Wonky Day – Suggestion #2: Start Writing

I have been an off and on journaler since I was a kid but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I began to realize what a tool this could be.

I’ve heard it referred to as journaling, brain dumping, and the morning papers (ala Julia Cameron). The point is to get all that stuff that has accumulated, and cluttered out of your head and down onto paper.

Taking the time to do this can be such a release. As creative entrepreneurs we tend to hold on to each and every idea that pops into our head in an attempt to not forget. Holding on that tight can stall one from moving forward on a project. Writing it all out can also give you a different perspective on what is and isn’t important.

You might be surprised to find that there are days when the time you invest in writing. takes you in directions never thought of before. This free-form writing experience can generate blog post ideas, product ideas, aha moments on your “stuckness” and even provide solutions by helping you see the problem from a different angle.

There are so many benefits to writing that I highly recommend it to family, friends, clients, and especially creative entrepreneurs. We can so easily get stuck in our own head, that we get tunnel vision. That tunnel vision can lead to stagnant creativity. We all need fresh input and new ideas. [Read more...]