Tuesday, May 12, 2015

You’re smart enough and good enough but your business is sucking wind Dan Miller

Remember the old Saturday Night Live skit where the character would stand in front of the mirror and say, “I’m good enough.  I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”  Well, I wish that were enough to be successful in business – but it’s not.

I just spoke with a new author.  She’s done a really good job of writing; did all the hard work and has a beautiful book in her hands.  And now she’s wondering how to sell more than the 10 copies she can count on from friends and family.

business woman with positive chart

It takes more than smarts to be successful

As I talk with people who are growing in success I keep seeing essential components we can identify that will make us even more successful. It doesn’t matter if you’re a graphic designer, bookkeeper, artist, writer, speaker, computer programmer, web designer, attorney, dentist, coach, inventor or CEO, you can take a look at these elements and see how you’re doing.  

Whether you have 1 customer or 10,000 you can look at your job, self-employment, or business to see how you’re engaging your skills to make money and make the world a better place.

You can’t just be good at writing, speaking, designing, fixing teeth, or drawing beautiful paintings.  There are 4 essential parts required for continued success:

Rank yourself 1-100% on how well you are doing in each of these areas

1.  Define Uniqueness – Focus your passion

What is it that makes you unique?  How do you stand out from the crowd?  There can be lots of others in the same arena but something has to make you distinguishable.  Define that:

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My ranking in this area __________ %

My plans for raising my effectiveness in this area include:

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2.  Build Authority – Grow your craft and confidence

What have you done that allows people to see your work? Do you have examples of your books, instructional manuals, audio products, tables, chairs, art pieces, speeches, landscaping, inventions, blogs, podcasts, client testimonials, etc.

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My ranking in this area __________ %

My plans for raising my effectiveness in this area include:

___________________________________________________________________________________

3.  Establish Your Voice – Expand your audience and connect

How are you building your audience?  Who is listening to you now?  Are you active on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN?  Are you creating a regular newsletter, blog or podcast?  Are you active on social networking sites like 48Days.net?  Are you commenting regularly on other similar blogs, podcasts and websites?  What workshops, seminars and conferences will you attend this year?  How would you rank yourself compared to others in the same industry or profession?

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My ranking in this area __________ %

My plans for raising my effectiveness in this area include:

___________________________________________________________________________________

4.  Leverage and Prosper – Deliver your work, give people what they want

How are you delivering your work on a daily, weekly, monthly basis?  What books have you written? How many houses have you built?  How many clients do you have currently?  What are you doing right now to build an inventory of your products or services?  How could you duplicate your core message with products other than what you offer now?

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My ranking in this area __________ %

My plans for raising my effectiveness in this area include:

___________________________________________________________________________________

When I did this recently with a brainstorming group, I ranked myself at 94%, 85%, 40%, and 70% in these four areas.  I see so many ways I could be better in the last two areas.  We’re exploring the new opportunities in Facebook advertising, being more active about writing for magazines and other websites, attending some strategic conferences, and building relationships with some other key players in my arena.  We are expanding member interaction in the 48Days.net community.  We now have the 10th Anniversary Edition of 48 Days to the Work You Love in hand – and I am now ready to create videos, seminar and the new Leader’s Guide.

It doesn’t matter if you have 1 customer (employed in traditional job) or if you are attempting to attract thousands, you can use this model to identify the areas where you can focus for improvement.

We’ve got an additional list of 18 Questions for Being Successful in Your Own Venture.  Just go to 48Days.com/freedom and you can get that list instantly.  The more questions you answer “Yes” to the better your chances of success.



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