Well, more to my surprise than any other, the artist form took a 360 turn, and here I am, running a business.  It's just hitting me now that I enjoy this just as much as playing a good song of Beethoven and that there is some good fulfillment in making strong business decisions.  

Because of the introduction that I had to business (being abrupt and learning by becoming street wise), I've learned a few spiritual principles that show whether a business is going to succeed or fail.  As the world continues to change, these ideals will come more into play and the concept of commerce is one that will follow in a fair way to do trade with others.  

- Organization is key.  Yes, this is actually a spiritual principle.  The entire universe has an organization to it, and each individual has a system in which they are organized off of.  You see it physically in how your body reacts to things and builds.  It's the exact same for a business.  When I began to organize my work with my business, clients began to come more freely and I was able to respect them and their needs.

- Money and time are the last components, not the first.  If you have things that are correct in your business dealings, such as ethics and treating everyone fairly, than you will have an excess amount of money and even more time.  However, you can not abuse these and use them without responsibility.  

- Be responsible for your services and products.  Being responsible doesn't mean just doing something.  It means being effective with what you do and doing it in a sincere manner.  This will allow you to have customers that you want and will provide you with an easier flow with doing the work that you want.  

- Treat your customers in the right manner.  This doesn't always mean being nice either.... And, it goes back to ethics.  However, if you have a customer that is the coolest in the world, make sure that you are truly serving them.  

There's so much more to it than that, and when I write these, it really seems dried up.  But, the idea is, your way of doing business and commerce has to go beyond the transactions.  It should combine these human elements and allow for you to be truthful to your craft and what you are offering.  It's not about offering to give people something for $200, it's about how you are offering it.

Here's to reaching the stars!

If you want business help or consulting, check me out.  The website is www.orion-services.biz.  

Since protection and security has started to sky rocket for individuals trying to spam others, so have the criminals who are determined to take your money and your time.  For everyone out there who is running a business, there are some new things to watch out for to make sure that you don't get put in a situation where you are dealing with fraud.  

In the last month, I have had three different "businesses" contact me.  All of them showed me in one way or another that they were fraudulent.  So, now, I would like to pass the information on to you so that you can prevent any business fires from happening. 

1.  If you see an online business, make sure it is valid.  For example, if they are selling products, it should have some sort of certification.  One of the strangest things I ran into with a potential customer was not only no certification, but also no real place that they had an office.  The street said something like 1500 Cresecent Moon Down, and had a location in three different countries.  I've never seen a street like that, and especially not more than once.  Of course, when I looked it up, it didn't exist.

2.  Check first.  If you receive checks from customers, make sure it is the exact amount and that it is valid.  Using a check verification system before you go to the bank will save you time and possible bumps against fraud.  Most banks will let you check to make sure everything in the bank is correct. 

3.  Have a contract or agreement.  Make sure that your customers sign and agree to legitimate work.  If anything does happen, you will have something to fight back with.  

4.  Know which business information to give.  Many of the fraudulent businesses are working through specific areas that they can hack through so they can get your business information.  Using something like Paypal or E-gold will ensure that you keep everything secure.  If you do take credit cards, make sure they have extra security on them. 

5.  Don't fall for how they "talk to you."  Even though the businesses are not real, there is a developed business attitude of how to speak with others in order to sound like a business.  Everything from books they have, a website and a name that has credentials may throw you off.  Look out for the little things, like incomplete sentences or inability to give you information.  For instance, one of the frauds I ran into went by the name of Dr, had a book for me to edit and even showed where she lived.  But, she couldn't spell very well, and her check turned out to be fraudulent. 

6.  There should only be one point of contact.  If the check has a different name than the person which has a different name than the e-mail, you know something is wrong.  Even if there is more than "one office," make sure that everything comes from the same place. 

It's easy to catch fraudulent material, but you will need to know what to look for.  As long as you are up with your business game, the ones that aren't legitimate, can't succeed with their plans to filter your money through. 

Yeah, sure.  We're all in business to make the millions, right?  To have the complete financial freedom, the luxurious life, the benefits of reaching the dream.  No, it's not the American dream anymore..just the dream.  Everyone wants riches. Or, maybe we are thinking more in terms of the many songs written about the evils of money and how it destroys you.  Maybe you are one of those that struggles on both sides of the money fence.

I would like to say that both of these ideals are just a superficial cover up for the reality of finances - whether it is a corporation or a home based business.  It's some sort of strange illusion that a lot of people are walking around with, thinking that more money will get them freedom or that money makes them do or act a certain way.  

After observing people doing this, I've realized something.  It's not money that people thirst for and are greedy for.  It's materialism.  And there is a huge difference.  I'm mentioning this because I believe that if many of us were to change our  mind set about money and materialism, our approach to our businesses and lifestyle, especially in the financial area, would flow much more smoothly.  

So, let's start with some specialized cultural definitions.  

Materialism - Having things, or the desire to have more things.  These things often are used to reflect personality on a superficial level, such as status, ideologies, etc.  For example, if you have the red hot rod, what does it say about your personality?

Money - A tool that is used to reach goals.  This is not superficial.  Money is meant to come into your life for a moment, support your business and help you to do what needs to be done with a service, product or personally so that you reach better means.  

In these definitions, money never stays and materialism always does.  Materialism is stagnant and loses value, while money is a flow.  It comes into your life, supports you and leaves.  It's an energy that can help to uplift you.  

So, if you are working as a business, your money should directly reflect the way you feel you are supporting others and how you believe you should be supported.  Because the money will then come into your life, help with that support and uplift you.  You can then turn around and use that same money to uplift someone else.  

I think; however, everything would be much better if instead of money, it were chocolate, as it has been in some places in ancient times.  But then, I would just get fat, not wealthy.   But, on that point, it also brings  me back to thinking about bartering and fair business and how it is set up to work for the good.  Bartering and money are the same system, just reflected by different means.  I promise - if you look at it this way, it will completely change your attitude towards what business is or is not, especially when thinking about pocket books.

I mention this concept because I believe that it separates the rich from the wealthy.  (I know a lot of you have heard that cliche before).  And, I believe that if more of us were thinking of money in this way, business would hold a very different energy and be much more enlightening.  

So, when you are thinking finances, stop thinking of what you have and don't have.  That's materialism.  Instead, think in amounts of how you are supported and what you can support in turn.  And then, money becomes your friend, not your foe, and you can begin to use it in the correct light. 

Hey - do you know this business formula?  Corporate color should be blue.  You should have certain sales points and marketing points to close a sale.  You have to have...blah, blah, blah and blah, blah, blah to run effectively.  It says so in the text books.

YAWN!

Oh, sorry!  Didn't mean to offend any of you traditional businesses.  But, for all the rest of us, why are we trying to run like traditional businesses?  This is a major sign that you are not functioning as your own unique business, but instead, trying to copy others.  And in my opinion, that's a HUGE thing to not do.

Would you please catch up with the 21st century?  It's time to put behind the traditions and build your business the way that you want to.  I'm giving you permission.  Let go of everything you are supposed to do, and let your business be your playground.  

Okay, let's take this as an example.  Visualize your business as a person....an entity...a thing...a piece of artwork on a canvas.  Take away the name of it being a business.  It's something, like a blank piece of paper that's dying for you to write your own words on it, put your colors on it and let it run from a creative area.  Unless you are a robot, or are copying someone, these things should not be like anything else.  You know that, as a person, all of these things I mentioned belong uniquely to you.  You have a certain type of energy that attracts you or pulls you away from certain people and types as well as things.    

Well, shouldn't your business be the same way?

And, if so, shouldn't your business be unique to you?

The point is this.  Let your business be what it wants to be.  Tap into it's creative side and pull it out.  Let it be unique, different and something that you would be proud to own.  The entire world of business is open to you and what you want your business to be.  Don't settle for less!

If you want some creative help, and don't want to settle for less, it's time for you to contact me (that's Brooke) by visiting my website at www.orion-services.biz or giving me a ring at 720-277-2652. 

As I move into my own business, trying to decide how to handle the ins and outs, I am also waking up to several facts about what business is and what it means. As I continue to deal with customers and what they are becoming as a business, I am realizing that business is not what it is supposed to be. In fact, the entire concept of commerce has been completely lost.

To move into the spiritual basis of business, business is supposed to be a trade. It is supposed to be an area where one set of services or products that come from a highly skilled professional and qualified set of individuals are supported by an individual who needs those highly qualified services or products. In return, the business is rewarded with some type of wealth. I mean wealth because it is not always money. Trading and bartering used to be a common way for businesses to support each others commerce. There are several ways to reach wealth in a business, not always by a green piece of paper. (more about that later).

Trade and business has quickly moved into the ability to support others trades and businesses and into something that is opposite of what that is. Making a million, gaining wealth or throwing up what the latest rage is are all signs of the mental disease of business. It's not about supporting commerce – it's about making money.

The more businesses continue to operate this way, the more problems there will be with greed and corruption in the work place on every level, from employees feeling trapped in positions to uncovering of individuals stifling money out of their own system. Even things such as lack of quality in items to identity theft or a specific result of businesses not moving into positions because of their knowledge, but instead because of their desire for money.

I call this the disease of American business. Greed. It's that simple one word. Business owners are addicted to it, they will treat each other badly because of it and they will loose all common sense and reasoning in order to play for it. It's often times called “the business game” in which individuals have to loose their money, valued time and energy in order to keep getting it. Not only will they do that, but they won't stop until they humiliate and break down another person's soul. It happens at all levels, and a large majority of business owners today have the symptoms.

This idea isn't an attack on businesses or business owners. There are still several individuals who are sincere with their interactions with customers and within the entity of their business. However, if the business disease continues to be supported, it will also continue to grow. As long as we keep shopping for low quality and operating our businesses because it is the “latest fad” or because we want money, we are supporting the disease and bringing it into our own lives.

The question is: how are you making your business transactions?