Karen's Musing of the Month - Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, LOL Cats and Obama Beer?

How to avoid 3 common pitfalls and make this your best year yet.

by Karen Frank

I've worked with hundreds of businesses now since I began my journey as an entrepreneur. There are two things that stand out among those who are most successful.  they are the difference between being gainfully self unemployed and having all the business they could ever want.

The first is having the mindset that anything is possible and that they are worthy of and expect to succeed. And that they are willing to take massive action to do whatever it takes to create what they want.

I am writing this article with the presumption that if you are still in business today, you probably have at least a small part of that mindset within you already - otherwise you would already be out of business.

The second common denominator of the successful businesses I've worked with is simple really. It's the difference between being vague and being specific.

There are three mistakes that businesses who struggle (or fail) most commonly make.

The first is - failing to design their business around what they want their life to be like.  That may sound strange to you.  Most entrepreneurs who struggle find something they are passionate about doing, do it and then fit the rest of their life in between clients and the business of running their business. 

The problem with this is that after a few years they realize they are overworked, trading time for dollars and are basically no closer to retiring that they were when they started.   If you don't have any idea what your dream life looks like - how will you get there?  You CAN do what you love AND have the lifestyle you want - you just have to plan it that way.

You can begin to do that by asking yourself: In 2020, what do I want to be doing.  Here's where vague vs. specific comes in.  Vague would be "I want to make a bunch more money and retire."  Specific is, "In 10 years, I want to have $3.6 million in the bank and I want to run an organic farm and guinea pig rescue."

Can you see how it would be much easier to figure out the steps to get there?  Can you also see how easy it might be to realize what you're doing that isn't in allignment with that intention (so you can perhaps stop doing that)

Take a moment right now and grab a sheet of paper and figure out what YOUR dream life looks like and how your current business fits in.  Where are you right now in relation to that?  What needs to change to make it a reality? What resources do you need? What do you need to learn?

Is it possible to see clients one to one and get to where you want to go or do you need to be able to see many clients at once?  Do you need to create a workshop?  Do you say the same thing over and over to your clients? Maybe you need to create an informational product? What resources would you need to make that happen?

The second challenge I see in struggling businesses is that they don't know what they don't know.  Now, some of this has to do with the first item (not knowing where they're going) but some is also putting on the blinders and getting busy with being busy with their business and not working ON their business. Businesses who fail to plan, plan to fail - you've probably heard that before - because it's true.

Your calendar should include time to do business planning AND time to do networking and marketing in addition to the doing of what you do.  In fact, if it doesn't, make yourself a note to calendar those things before the day is over. Again, specifically what do you need to plan for to create your ideal business. Where are you now? What would have to be different to be where you want to be? You may need to figure out which tasks you can offload so you have TIME to plan.  What resources might you need to make that happen?

The third thing is another "branch" of not knowing what they don't  know - not really having a good handle on who their clients are and what their needs are. Gone are the days of being able to find clients by taking out a business license talking to a few friends and having all the business you need.  You need to know who your clients are so you can talk to them, Create educational marketing just for them, find other businesses who also service them. If you can't describe them, you won't be able to find them.

Can you describe your ideal client? If you're looking for "anyone" or you can help "everyone," my crystal ball says you probably need more clients.  Because "anyone" and "everyone" = no one.

Can you describe what your clients need - in their words? (OK - this isn't what YOU think they need either)

That's a bit harder. You may want to create a survey to find out more about your best clients.  Why did they come to see you in the first place? How did you help them? What was it like before they worked with you and how is it now? 

Questions like these will be the building blocks for Networking conversations, Marketing copy and conversations with strategic alliances. And of course you have to figure out where to go and what to say once you get there.  Again, by being specific and by being able to concisely describe who you serve and what you do for them, any conversations around building your business suddenly become much easier and more natural.  What, specifically, do YOU need to do to answer the questions in the last section?

So by now, you've probably noticed that there are some things you need to know.  You've probably been able to identify some resources you need. Excellent! Because when you connect with the information and the people you now know you need, you won't have to participate in the recession.

For more information, check out my book The Top 5 Things Every Professional Must Know To Survive a Recession or come to a live workshop!

Whether you join me or not, be sure to take the time to find the resources you need to make 2009 your most profitable year yet.

Want to use this article in your newsletter or on your website? You can! Just be sure to include the entire article and include this complete "blurb" with it:
 
Networking Expert, Karen Frank publishes Networking News, a semi-monthly newsletter devoted to helping you avoid marketing disasters and networking faux pas.  Get the home study course "The Seven Deadly Sins of Networking and How to Avoid them" Free when you sign up for Networking News at www.misskarensproductions.com

 The Truth About "Givers Gain"

I was on a teleclass the other day and the topic of networking came up.

The presenter talked about how at most networking events there are two kinds of people: those who go to get business and those who go to see who they can help. 

The presenter went on to say that you can tell a mile away who came to get business because they give off the energy of being "needy" and by doing so, simply attract more needy people to them.  All in all not a good way to go networking.

I agree with that.

Dr. Ivan Misner of BNI (Business Networking International) defines networking as "Growing your business by helping other people." and the motto of BNI is 'Giver's Gain.' The whole point of his organization is you give to your fellow chapter members and in return you will also receive.

I agree with that too.

However, there is one potentially fatal flaw in that and I am seeing it more often as the economy continues to scare people. In fact I wish I'd been able to speak during that teleclass because I believe that there is a third type of person who goes to networking events:

People who give in order to gain.

Let me put it another way: There are well meaning people who are aware of the idea of "givers gain" or "what comes around goes around" etc.  They take it at face value and start giving to other people with the expectation that they are going to get something out of it.

In my opinion, that is a poor interpretation of a very pure, well intentioned philosophy and is precisely why many people drop out of networking groups and stop going to chamber functions. Why?

Because giving in order to get - doesn't work.

You'll see this at a networking function as someone who asks for your business card as a strategy for getting you to ask for theirs.  They usually don't care about you or your card. Their primary goal is to get you interested in what they do so they can continue the conversation.

These are the same people who ask what you do and stare blankly while you talk because they aren't listening. They are waiting for you to say "What do you do" so they can talk.

There is a better way to network. It all starts with the real truth behind the "givers gain" philosophy.

Believe it or not, you are a resource for other people. There are people you know - on your list, your clients, your vendors etc who other people are looking for. Sometimes it is the very thing they need to take them to the next step in their business - or their lives.  You, and only you, hold the key.

When you go to a networking function - or anywhere where you are likely to meet people - remember that the best and highest use of your time is to be a connector.

Figure out who needs to know who. 

Help a strategic alliance find a client - or another strategic alliance.

Give someone a service they need but maybe can't afford and tell them to "pay it forward."  

Offer to ask people that you know if they know someone who can help.

By using "givers gain" in this way, you'll not only be remembered, you'll change lives. And isn't that what your business is really all about?