I was going to type...."Well, it's 9:30 pm and I've just climbed the stairs for a few minutes to myself before I put my kid to bed.....," but I realized that I often begin my blogs with the time of day and the fact that I'm stealing a few minutes of solitude in between play dates and bath time.
The fact is, this is what life is like for many people who run home based businesses. I used to think that running a home based business meant that I got to lounge around on my deck, calmly sipping a cup of coffee while I typed inspirational prose and saved the world, one paragraph at a time. It looked so glamorous....from the outside.
Now I know this is different. Running a home based business is hectic. Some days I long for an opportunity to be able to head to an actual office, swap some casual banter with the water-cooler gang, and then stick my head to my computer for the next 8 .....uninterrupted hours. I can just imagine it....I could maybe even have a pee by myself!
Let's face it, excelling at this kind of business means that you have to do a lot of things...right the first time, because time is money and we don't get a lot of it!
So today I'd like to talk to you about one of the most fundamental things that you have to start doing right.....right now.
You have to figure out who YOU are....and be YOU.
What? Figure out who I am? Don't I already know? And aren't I already doing that?
Well, sure, you do, and you are, but let me explain.
When I first joined my primary company, I initially kind of panicked. Yes, I was hopped up on the "make your first million in your first month and marry Johnny Depp in your second" excitement, but deep down I knew that I was going to be facing a whole lot of competition out there. And yes, I'm exaggerating. It was George Clooney. ;)
I knew deep down in my heart that I wasn't going to be the only promoter on the planet, much less my city. And I was fully aware that they would be pushing the product just as feverently as I planned to be, so what was a girl to do? How the heck was I going to succeed?
If we all raced out our doors, hit all the craft sales, had twenty challenge parties a week, what would make me succeed over everyone else?
The answer my friend was simple. It's ME!
And it's YOU!
If you checked out my big debut page you might have read that I've done a number of different jobs over the years. Sounds crazy, but I lived in a tent for 4 months tree planting in Northern British Columbia. I was the first female hired on the maintenance crew of a crude oil pipeline. I've sold shoes, taught high school, and taught people how to shoot high powered rifles..(not at school) and no, I'm not making this stuff up either! So my background skills and experiences that I bring to the table will be far different than someone who has done different jobs, and had different life experiences.
My point here is that no matter who you are, you have value to offer your clients, and that value comes from who you are. What skills do you have to share? What insights and experiences can you draw from to help your people? What do you stand for?
And sure, you might think to yourself, well, my other jobs don't related to my primary company. Or I can't think of anything I'm good at. If this is you and take a deep breath, then throw those notions out of the window.
Start by reminding yourself what drew you to that particular company in the first place. What attracted you? What was the spark that hooked you in? Take that and connect it to your personal skill set and experiences, and go from there.
Think about what exactly you want to offer your clients. Sure, you want to sell the product, but that comes later. First you have to build a relationship with your people and that begins by offering them value. What is going to draw people to YOU versus the other guy down the street?
What do you have to offer? Ultimately, who are you?
And that, my friends, is what branding is all about.
We're going to talk a lot about value and branding in the weeks to come, so stay tuned! It's gonna be fun ride!
