Colleen Biggs

Five Reasons to Hire a Business Coach

August 28, 2022 By quadcities Leave a Comment

Would you say that you are a proficient business owner?

As a child, many of us might remember trying several different sports, dance classes, gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, etc., to see which sport we loved and which sport we naturally were drawn to. I’m sure you remember the day when your parents dropped you off to play your favorite sport. For me, I had just purchased a new glove, bought new cleats and had my hair pulled back in a ponytail. I was ready for my first practice to learn how to perfect the game of softball. That day, I remember meeting my coach. He was soft-spoken, kind, and full of knowledge about how to play softball. I always wanted to be the pitcher, so of course when he asked us what positions we wanted to play I blurted out “I’ll be the pitcher,” or so I thought. I remember him taking us through several drills to really understand our skill sets, areas that we were stronger in than others, as well as moving us around the field to try several different positions. Turns out, I wasn’t a very good pitcher; second base was where I landed. Who would have thought?

I was only about 4 feet tall when I started playing softball, but I was quick, I was small, and great at catching. However, I couldn’t throw accurately to save my life, so second base was the perfect fit for me with my skill advantages and disadvantages. It took the coach testing me in several areas to figure this out. What about you? Do you remember your favorite sport and where you landed based on your knowledge, skill sets and advantages? I bet you do! Without having the coach on the field in practice, I bet neither of us would have been able to become state champions or even win a game. I certainly know as a mother raising children I wouldn’t have dropped my children off to “practice” if a coach wasn’t present. Yet, as business owners, many believe they don’t need a coach anymore in their lives.

By definition, a coach is someone who teaches and trains an athlete or performer. And the definition of an athlete is someone that is trained, skilled and proficient. Would you say that you are a proficient business owner? Just because you are passionate at what you do doesn’t mean you know how to run a business. I meet many women on my journey that are skilled, proficient and truly athletes in their industries, but they lack the understanding and skills to build a successful business.

I’d like you to meet Dr. Melissa Balizan. She has 50,000 clinical hours, has been working as a pharmacist for more than two decades and knows more about medication and the properties of them than probably 1,000 of us combined. She is truly an “athlete” in her industry. Where she lacked was the knowledge of turning her two decades of experience into her own business that had paying customers. When I met her, she was a concierge pharmacist with no private clients. A year later, after hiring me, she was leveraging her skills to work with large corporate businesses to facilitate medicine management for their employees to cut their healthcare costs. Now, she works with physicians to assist their clients, because general physicians are so busy treating clients that they don’t have the time to meet with them regularly to discuss their medication reviews. This is one example of how a business coach is able to see a different perspective in your business and can “move you around the field” to test your skill sets and leverage your knowledge to have a successful career, on your terms.

Here are five quick reasons why you should consider hiring a business coach if you own a business:

Accountability If for no other reason, hiring a business coach for accountability will be the greatest decision you have ever made in your life.
Navigate Challenges and Meet Your Goals A business coach can assist you in creating measurable goals, based on your industry, that will surely come up against some challenges that you may be experiencing for the first time. However, your coach has already been there and done that!
Recognize Your Blind Spots We all have them and they are called “blind spots” because you can’t see them yourself, but your coach can!
Close Knowledge Gaps Be sure to hire a business coach that is always a few steps, if not 10, ahead of you so they can teach you what to expect at every turn.
Unblock Limits We all have these, too, and they are all self-imposed. Your coach will bring these to light so you can work through the blocks and eventually set yourself free of limiting beliefs.

I want to meet you and will be speaking at the Athena Awards in Prescott on Sept. 18. Connect with me on social media, LinkedIn, or even track me down on my website. QCBN

By Colleen Biggs

For more information on how you can schedule a 30-minute strategy call with Colleen Biggs visit her website at https://colleenbiggs.net/ and schedule that call at https://calendly.com/colleenbiggs/30min and see how your business can accelerate, scale and dominate with coaching with Colleen Biggs https://colleenbiggs.net/coaching/

Hear more from Colleen Biggs on Zonie Living, the Leading Ladies edition, at StarWorldwideNetworks.com

Start Before You Are Ready

July 28, 2022 By quadcities Leave a Comment

Leadership tips from Prescott-Area Athena Award keynote presenter Colleen Biggs.

You have all heard the phrase, “To take a leap of faith.” But what does that really mean in the big scheme of life? Does it mean that you take careless risks or lead your life blindly into the unknown because you have faith in the leap? No, it does not! It signifies that you need to start before you are ready. In my world, LEAP stands for Leading with Enhanced Acceleration to reach your Peak Performance. If I never started before I was ready, you wouldn’t be reading this article right now!

I’m not a journalist or a polished writer, but I have a passion for empowering women to inspire change in others, build unlimited wealth and leave a legacy behind. That is why I start before I’m ready, so we can all live in a world where kindness spreads.

You are your own safety net, period! So why are so many individuals afraid to leap and start before they are ready? The lack of desire for growth may be FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real). Without the desire to grow, change and become a better version of yourself, you remain in the same fishbowl that you have created as your “reality.” You remain stuck, fearful of the outcome!

As entrepreneurs, you cannot focus on what happens to you, you must focus on what is happening for you. Look up every once in a while and reap the benefits of what is happening around you: those you can meet, those that collaborate with you. Opportunities are endless. If you seek, you shall find. But, just like a goldfish, we outgrow our “bowls.”

Have you heard about the proximity principle? You are the combination of the five people you hang around the most. You most likely have the same net worth, like some of the same foods, enjoy the same activities, etc. This can keep you stuck if you are around those unwilling to grow. Leaping to the new belief offers the opportunity for you to meet someone new, put yourself in a new crowd, develop new skills that form new habits, and take on new leadership roles in your business, career, family and community. Remember, your network is your net worth!

Imagine you are speaking on stage and you see the front row of the audience. Do you want that front row to be your raving fans, nodding, clapping, cheering? Or, would you like that front row to be naysayers, frowning, falling asleep from boredom, or, worse yet, getting up and walking out of the auditorium?

Of course, you want them to be raving fans! So, fill the “front row” in your life with those same people. Don’t be afraid to ask others for what you want, ask yourself for what you want, and, most importantly, ask God. Figure out what it is that you want in your business and go for it. I did when I built my community from zero to 12,000 community members in just three short years.

Let’s break down a simple list of how you can take the LEAP and start before you are ready:

Life is happening for you. As entrepreneurs, you cannot focus on what happens to us, you must focus on what is happening for us. Opportunities are endless. If you seek, you shall find.

Leadership: Who is your raving fan? Who tells everyone about you? Write the list down and use this list when you need assistance in getting the word out about a new product or event you may have.

Be the authority of you: You are the only you that has ever been and the only you that will ever be. Now is the time to stop asking permission of others and show up authentically as you everywhere. Trust me, it will be the best impression you can leave, and will be memorable.

Your network is your net worth: Accelerate your growth through additional learning and by surrounding yourself with those individuals who fuel your success, not snuff it out! It’s time to check your inner circle and maybe shift some people around.

Challenge yourself and do it scared: Done is better than perfect. If it doesn’t scare you, it’s not a risk. Take a risky leap today to prove you can do anything you put your mind to.

I want to meet you and will be speaking at the Prescott Area Athena Awards, 3-5 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18, at Starting Point in the Prescott Gateway Mall. https://prescottathena.com. Connect with me on social media, LinkedIn or even track me down on my website. QCBN

By Colleen Biggs

For additional information on how you can schedule a 30-minute strategy call with Colleen Biggs, visit her website at https://colleenbiggs.net/ and schedule that call here https://calendly.com/colleenbiggs/30min. Visit her online community https://colleenbiggs.net/community/ to find more ways that you can increase your leadership through visibility https://colleenbiggs.net/freebies/.

Nominations are being accepted now for the 2022 Prescott-Area ATHENA Award. Find nomination form and ticket information for the ATHENA High Tea event, Sunday, Sept. 18, at prescottathena.com.

To hear more from Colleen Biggs, find her on Zonie Living, “Leading Ladies Who Inspire, Empower and Model Excellence,” at starworldwidenetworks.com.

Leave a Legacy through Leadership

June 28, 2022 By quadcities Leave a Comment

Opportunities are endless. If we seek, we shall find. But, just like a goldfish, we outgrow our “bowls.”

We have all heard the phrase “Take a leap of faith,” but what does that really mean in the big scheme of life? Does it mean that we take careless risks, or lead our lives blindly into the unknown because we have faith in the “Leap?” No, it does not! I have applied the meaning of what “leaping” means to me in the acronym L.E.A.P. In my world, L.E.A.P. means to Lead with an Enhanced Acceleration to reach your Peak Performance.

You might have caught a glimpse of the cover of the famous book, “The Big Leap.” If you haven’t, let me describe it for you. There is a small fish bowl of water and a large fish bowl of water. The goldfish has leaped from the small bowl and is in mid-air, leaping to the large bowl. This signifies what we all know to be true. If we truly want lasting growth in our lives and in our businesses, we must “Leap” with the faith we have in ourselves that we can arrive and be the true leaders we desire to be. In the newfound “water” there are more opportunities, more abundance, more of EVERYTHING! We are our own safety nets, period!

So, why are so many individuals afraid of the Leap? The most common answer is fear. Without the desire to grow, change and become a better version of ourselves, we remain in the same “fishbowl” that we have created as our reality. We remain stuck, fearful of the outcome. As leaders, we cannot focus on what happens to us, we must focus on what is happening for us. Look up every once in a while and reap the benefits of what is happening around you: those you can meet, those that collaborate with you, those that are looking to you for guidance and direction. Opportunities are endless. If we seek, we shall find. But, just like a goldfish, we outgrow our “bowls.”

Have you heard about the proximity principle? You are the combination of the five people you hang around the most. You most likely have the same net worth, like some of the same foods, enjoy the same activities, etc. This can keep you stuck if you are around those unwilling to grow. Leaping to the new bowl offers the opportunity for you to meet someone new, put yourself in a new crowd, develop new skills that form into new habits and take on new leadership roles in your business, career, family and community. Let’s break down L.E.A.P. so we can diminish the fear that sets in whenever we think of doing something that we have never done before.

L is for Lead The clear definition of leadership is simple: someone is following you. Now, think in your life about who that someone might be. Who is a raving fan of yours? Who are you leading now in your life? Is it someone at work, someone in your community, a friend, family member, or colleague? We are all leaders in some way. It helps to know who you lead now so you can determine who you want to lead in the future. Back in 1989, I started working for corporate America and the climb up the ladder began. As my career grew, I stepped into leadership roles without asking permission of others. I led hundreds of CEOs – in fact, it was over 300 CEOs – in building massively successful businesses, led internal employees to ask for what they wanted in their careers, to fight for themselves, led successful fundraisers and created successful programs within the company that increased employee retention and overall gratitude within the office. We have the power within us to shine our greatest value, our personal power to build up others.

E is for Enhanced To enhance means to intensify. Now that I am a successful entrepreneur, working with my clients is all about intensifying their message and purpose. Be bold and put yourself out there for others to know, like and trust! By sharing who you really are, sharing your wisdom and experience, people can relate to you, and when they can relate to you, they grow to like you, trust you and even want to work with you as an authority if you can solve their problem. I see too many times that individuals in business do not take the leadership role of themselves and create that authority. Let’s face it. No one out there has ever been you, will ever be you, so there is only one YOU! Leverage all of that, including your degrees, to your advantage by being transparent with others. I’m a 1st-degree black belt in Taekwondo and have that on my LinkedIn profile. Why, you ask? Because to me it was just as hard if not more difficult than college! I gained so many valuable lessons about breaking through mental blocks, how it feels to have a strong mind and body, and what I’m capable of. I’m not sure of one single college that teaches us those life lessons. Be the authority of you, it works. I guarantee it!

A is for Acceleration If you are like me, you may not be very patient. Now I understand that patience is a virtue. I wasn’t in line the day God handed out “patience,” but it can be practiced. Be of the mindset to accelerate all that you can. That must be why I enjoy cooking instead of baking. Baking requires exact measurements and A LOT of patience to watch bread rise, beat it back down, then rise again, roll it and finally cook it. When I cook, I throw ingredients in a cast iron pan (a hot one at that) and whip up something quick! This is the way I enjoy working. You can accelerate the growth of your company by creating power plays and partnerships with others. Accelerate the growth through additional learning and surrounding yourself with those individuals who fuel your success, not snuff it out! Remember earlier when I talked about who you are surrounding yourself with? Don’t be afraid to ask others for what you want, ask yourself for what you want, and, most importantly, ask God! Figure out what it is that you want in your business and go for it!

P is for Peak Performance We are never done learning or expanding our minds to greater possibilities. If you believe that is true, it is! Every year we need to be focusing on learning, taking inventory of what worked in the past and what is no longer serving us. This is what I do quarterly in my business. I compare where we are at the moment with our goals. Are we ahead or behind the timeline we set for the business in the beginning? And how can we accelerate that growth? Generally, if I’m not operating at my peak potential and my team is not operating at their peak performance, then it’s nearly impossible to reach such heights. How do you know you are operating at your peak performance? You are performing better than you were last year, better than last month, and even better than yesterday. You are crushing it and loving every second of it!

I want to meet you and will be speaking at the Athena Awards in Prescott on Sept. 18. Connect with me on social media, LinkedIn or even track me down on my website. QCBN

By Colleen Biggs

For additional information on how you can schedule a 30-minute strategy call with Colleen Biggs, visit her website at https://colleenbiggs.net/ and schedule that call here https://calendly.com/colleenbiggs/30min and visit her online community https://colleenbiggs.net/community/ to find more ways that you can increase your leadership through visibility https://colleenbiggs.net/freebies/

Nominations are being accepted now for the 2022 Prescott-Area ATHENA Award. Find nomination form and ticket information for the ATHENA High Tea event, Sunday, Sept. 18, at prescottathena.com.

To hear more from Colleen Biggs, find her on Zonie Living, “Leading Ladies Who Inspire, Empower and Model Excellence,” at starworldwidenetworks.com.

ATHENA Nominations Being Accepted

June 13, 2022 By quadcities Leave a Comment

High Tea to feature Business Coach Colleen Biggs.

The Quad Cities area is preparing to recognize and celebrate local women leaders who excel in business, support their communities and mentor others. Nominations are being accepted now through Aug. 1, for the third annual Prescott-area ATHENA Award, an international honor sponsored by Quad Cities Business News and Prescott Woman Magazine.

Business Coach Colleen Biggs is scheduled to be the keynote speaker, presenting “Ignite your Personal Power” at the ATHENA High Tea celebration, where the 2022 ATHENA Award recipient will be announced. The event is scheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 18, at Starting Point in the Gateway Mall. Tickets and sponsorship tables are available now at https://prescottathena.com/tickets.

Biggs has been a business coach for 22 years, is the founder and CEO of The Leap Community, an organization that offers summits, workshops and retreats designed to empower women to lead, and has helped launch 340 businesses.

“The whole motivation behind being who we were born to be comes from really leaning into your voice, into who you are and what makes you stand out,” she said. “We know who we are in the first four years of our life. We spend the rest of our lives trying to dig ourselves out of what others have labeled us to be.”

Biggs grew up in Chandler and like a lot of little girls, imagined that the life she thought she was supposed to live included a prince, a big Disney-esque wedding and a happy ever after. But with her parents’ divorce, she watched her mom’s world fall apart.

For 12-year-old Colleen and her mom, life was a struggle. She began to realize that her little girl dream did not exist. As an adult, she took charge of her destiny and learned to create the life she wanted. Today, that “amazing” life is highly focused on improving and changing other women’s lives by empowering and boosting female leaders to the next level.

Biggs is an international speaker, has co-authored “The Anatomy of Accomplishment: Your Guide to Bigger, Better, Bolder Business Results,” was a contributing author to “Stop Waiting: Start Living,” and has published her own book “Step Into the Spotlight to Expand Your Influence and Attract the Right Clients.” She also has written two journals and created a year-long mastermind program for high-achieving women to focus on their businesses and increase their visibility, capacity and wealth.

“Every single person I’ve coached is different. You need the ability to get into the map of their world to understand them first – who they are, what they need, what they are looking for – to assist and empower them for greatness.”

Early sponsors of the Prescott Area ATHENA Award include:

Northland Cares
YRMC/Dignity Health
Pinnacle Bank
Watters Garden Center
NAZ Social Media
Vettanna
Yavapai Gaming
Findlay Subaru/GMC/Toyota
Aboost Wellness & Salon

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

To nominate an outstanding local female leader for the Prescott-area ATHENA Award and to reserve a seat at the ATHENA High Tea, go to https://prescottathena.com . Hear more from Colleen Biggs on Zonie Living, the “Leading Ladies” edition, at https://starworldwidenetworks.com/episodes/leading-ladies-who-empower-inspire-and-model-excellence-business-coach-colleen-biggs-entrepreneur-april-white-and-actress-mariette-hartley-video

Photo caption:

Business Coach Colleen Biggs is the 2022 ATHENA High Tea keynote speaker presenting “Ignite Your Personal Power.” Courtesy photo

Colleen Biggs Bets on Women to Lead

April 2, 2022 By quadcities Leave a Comment

Entrepreneurial business coach has helped launch hundreds of small businesses.

Colleen Biggs grew up like a lot of little girls, imagining the life she thought she was supposed to live, including a prince, a big Disney-esque wedding and a happily ever after. But with her parents’ divorce, she watched her mom’s world fall apart.

For 12-year-old Colleen and her mom, life was a struggle. They survived on food stamps in rural Chandler in the 1970s. “It was interesting because it was a horse town then. People would ride their horses to grocery stores. You would smell manure all day.”

She began to realize that her little-girl dream didn’t exist. Instead, life felt, looked and smelled bad to her. She decided this was not her destiny.

At 35 years old, she had an epiphany. “I remember the day I made the decision that I was not going to be what everyone else labeled me to be. I was not going to be where others believed Colleen should fit.”

She was working her way up to an executive position in Corporate America. But inside, she was breaking down, unhappy with trying to fit others’ opinions about who she was at work, as a mother or even around town. “Labels were flying at me, but it only takes one kind or generous label to wash all the others away.”

The company where she worked was selling raffle tickets for prizes, with proceeds benefiting a charitable organization. Employees would drop a ticket in the basket of the prize they wanted to win. Biggs wanted only one prize – lunch once a month with the CEO for a year. She desperately wanted to be mentored by this person that she so admired. She bought 100 tickets and put them all in his basket.

“I didn’t win. I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “But, my CEO came over to me and said, ‘Listen, I watched you and I know how bad you wanted those lunches and I know you’re devastated. I’m so impressed that you put all your tickets in my basket. You bet on me. Now I’m going to bet on you.’”

As promised, the CEO met with her and coached her. “I learned how to be a very successful human. I learned how to believe in myself and found my uniqueness. It was the standing-out part that he was teaching me. He was preparing me for entrepreneurship. We spent a couple of years together. He still supports me as the person I am today.”

As a result, she broke up with her boyfriend, bought herself a house, met her husband and combined families. “It’s been 15 years, seven kids, 12 grandchildren and the most amazing life I could ever imagine, all because I decided just to free myself of the chains that everyone else put on me. Now, life isn’t happening to me, it’s happening for me.”

That “amazing” life is highly focused on improving other women’s lives as well. Biggs has been a business coach for 22 years, is the founder and CEO of The Leap Community, an organization that offers summits, workshops and retreats designed to empower women to lead, and has helped launch 340 businesses. She is an international speaker, has co-authored “The Anatomy of Accomplishment: Your Guide to Bigger, Better, Bolder Business Results,” was a contributing author to “Stop Waiting: Start Living,” and has published her own book, “Step Into the Spotlight to Expand Your Influence and Attract the Right Clients.” She also has written two journals and created a year-long mastermind program for high-achieving women to focus on their businesses and increase their visibility, capacity and wealth.

Biggs tells the story of “Jennifer” (not her real name): “She came to me after being an entrepreneur for 20 years. She was a confident, very intuitive person who works through spirit to speak with people. But the pandemic freaked her out and she developed a scarcity mindset. She lost all her confidence, all her clients and all her money. She felt like she didn’t have her legs underneath her. When I met her, she was making $1,500 a month. In the second month we worked together, she made $10,000. Around the fourth month, she made $30,000, her highest month ever. She started a school for women who have these psychic gifts and don’t know what to do with them. We helped her set up the school and found a way to scale the business.”

Biggs and Jennifer worked together for about six months. “It comes down to the belief we have in ourselves. When you have a thought and you believe it so much to be true, every single thing you see is telling you what you believe is true. We lose this as we get older. We almost become numb to what we are conditioned to be. It takes extraordinary effort for us to become extraordinary.”

Today, Biggs carries around casino chips, which she hands out to women. “You need to bet on you,” she tells them, with a nod to her former mentor. “Be around me. I will bet on you and I will be there to empower you to bet on you, too.” QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

Find Biggs at https://colleenbiggs.net and meet her on Zonie Living: Business, Adventure and Leadership at Dave Pratt’s Star Worldwide Networks, https://starworldwidenetworks.com.

Colleen Biggs

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