Foolish Career or Business Mistakes - and How to Avoid Them

In honor of the upcoming April Fool’s Day, I am asking clients, friends and associates like you to share a foolish career or business mistake that taught you something important, and how things are different now and how you would advise others.  It’s important that you feel good about it now or can laugh at it.  This is meant to share and teach; not be critical of yourself. 

I will share some of them on my April Fool’s Complimentary First Monday teleconference at 6:30 PDT, and hopefully, some of you will be on to share your story personally.  I will introduce you and ask what you do and how to reach you!  Good promo!  (But only if you’re OK with that.) 

One of the more foolish (and expensive) errors in judgment I made early on was spending a lot of money to conduct a workshop to which nobody came.  I had elaborate promotional brochures and materials, a deposit on a meeting room in a great hotel at the airport, and food and drinks ordered. I’m telling you it was really extraordinarily well organized!!!!  But no one registered.  I was devastated.

However, I learned to the value of pre-testing my market! I just had the wrong slant on my subject and my audience didn’t relate to it – something I could have easily fixed with a few targeted conversations, a focus group or one round of www.surveymonkey.com.  

I see a lot of this with product launches – time and money spent on a information product our clients don’t really want.  It is not what they NEED that makes them buy – it is what they WANT.   Take the time to know and monitor your client's  real concerns and what excites them. When you are clear about that sweet spot, it’s money in the bank!  That's what I learned. 

Now, it’s your turn.  Let me hear from YOU.  I can’t be the only one……….

 

(P.S.  Register for the free call at http://bit.ly/YIV26M 

 

 

 

4 Positive Results of the Economy

I know you are familiar with all the negative aspects of our economy today. After over 20 years working with clients in transition, I am very familiar with the process, and realize the entire world is in a classic transition process!

Every transition process begins with something going wrong, (as it most certainly has), and the transition piece is where we begin the renewal process. It is scary, exciting, and uncertain – a fair review of our situation today. But, this major shift is offering some interesting positive results and new opportunities:

1) IMPOSED RE-EVALUATION: Certainly as a nation and planet we are re-evaluating everything from our policies and foreign relations to economic structures. Similarly, as individuals, most of us are re-evaluating our choices including core values, work, family and how we have spent our money. For many it’s long overdue. We’re finally forced to finally release jobs that bored us, work that doesn’t fulfill. This is a positive result. One of my clients made a comment awhile ago about her experience as a result of 9/11: “If it weren’t for 9/11, I wouldn’t have lost my job. But it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced me to re-evaluate my life, make a career change and start my own business. Today I love my life! Without that kind of crisis, I may have gone along in that old life a long, long time, letting it just sap the life out of me.”

2) RENEWED FAITH: The last few months have seen a dramatic increase in church attendance. People are being driven back to their spiritual roots or seeking new outlets. Many of us feel moved connect with a Higher Power. It is said that we are always making the choice between fear and faith, and that whichever one we choose, cancels out the other. Faith and an uplifted heart will outperform just about any business building tactic. Sandy Gooch, founder of “Mrs. Gooch’s” which has since become Whole Foods Market here in Southern California commented that she would have failed if she knew that a mother of small children with no marketing or business background couldn’t build the empire she did. Her faith came first and created her success against all odds. If you’re focused on increasing your energy and relying on higher laws to create your results, you can accomplish anything.

3) RE-CONNECTION TO COMMUNITY: The uncertainty has led to a marked increase in people seeking comfort and community. Job seekers are filling hotel meeting rooms and bars, banding together to help and support one another. Networking is suddenly a vital skill. Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In are all thriving. People are reconnecting with old college roommates, former schoolmates and lost loves. It’s great! We are all one and there is comfort in being together as never before. In January 2009 I started Fired Up for Success Mastermind Network and it is steadily growing because people not only want to connect, but more than ever need to keep focused and their energy fired up so that they can attract what they need for the next step. This trend of connecting to community is contributing to making the world a better place to live.

4) CREATIVITY AND RE-INVENTION ABOUND: “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.” In my book, “The 8 Myths of Making a Living,” I talk about my dad who was a young man in the Depression and saw that period as a time of “opportunity.” He invested heavily in stocks – which were really cheap! The result was he became a wealthy man and taught me that all economies offer opportunity! He taught me to be an “opportunity seeker,” no matter what is going on.

I have clients coming to me saying, “What I did to market myself or make a living a year ago – or 6 months ago –is not longer working! Now what do I do?” Take heart: There is plenty of opportunity; it’s just being re-tooled.

There are more creative ideas than ever. Once you have re-evaluated what you really want, gotten support to keep your spirits “fired up,” and have community, you can create just about anything. That’s the good new for today’s economy!!

Career Strategy: Never Need a Full Time Job Again

If there ever was a time to begin re-thinking your career and work life it is NOW. No longer is just getting another job going to be a lasting strategy.

Everyone of us is going to need a whole new relationship with our concepts of career, work, and livlihood. No longer can our work be defined by the confines of a job. In fact, it can't be. The "job" as a form of livlihood is becoming a relic. As William Bridges, author and visionary commented,"Looking for jobs is like looking for deck chairs on the Titanic."

If not a job, what then? If you start a business how long will it take for you to make money? What do you do while you're building the business? What if you don't want a business of your own? How could you balance everything? Where are resources and support? Aren't these great questions? Yep, and these are the things we talk about, and that EVERYONE needs to think about today.

No matter what you're doing, it's important to redefine how you think about your work and your life.

It's important to explore your core values and passions. **

You've GOT to find a way to GET EXCITED. That's what is going to propel you. It's hard to do that alone sitting in your living room.

If you're not local, just keep reading this blog, because I'm going to talk about this stuff a lot. Trust me, you won't be able to stop me.

Meanwhile, I want you to think about what would you do with you if you never had a full time job again!

**If you want to quickly understand your natural gifts, talents and passions and turn them into profitable, fufilling strategies, go to my Special Offer for my Jump Start Clarity session at www.firedupforuccess.com/coaching.htm.