These Guys Should Be
Every time I talk to those guys I feel like I need a shower,” whispers a friend last week.
Lunchtime, and he’d just managed to shoo the guys from the next building out of his office, after twenty excruciating minutes. “He talked on and on and I still have no idea and don’t care.” What’s my friend’s problem with the owners next door?
I guess the real estate thing didn’t work out. They don’t even have a sign anymore. This week it’s, ‘We’re doing an Internet thing now. And we do dry cleaning pickup. And we’re doing some custom framing, too.’ I almost asked, house framing or pictures?, but then I was afraid he’d answer. If he stayed one more minute I know he would have told me there’s a free set of Ginsu knives with every order.”
Can you hang a sign?
I’ve heard about them before but I don’t know any details. The thing that struck me is, how could they have a sign up? If they don’t have a focused Vision of what they do, what would they tell their designer to put on the sign?
You may have heard advice about having a different business card for each business you are involved in, or each situation you run into. Maybe these guys have heard it, too. They just come to talk to my friend, not to sell, but perhaps they have their pockets coded for sales situations (left front is real estate, right is Internet-thing, back left is dry cleaning, back right is framing…).
Three little words:
This is BAD.
You have lots of interests. You’re a Renaissance person extraordinaire. Great. You can’t do it all for a living.
Nope, sorry. You can’t.
How did my friend open that conversation? “Every time I talk to those guys I feel like I need a shower.” They make him feel slimy. They’re fly-by-night. They’re experts in nothing at all. If I gave them real-estate-thing dollars two months ago, and they’re picking up dry cleaning today, what happened to my dough? If I give them framing money today, but they’re feeling more like dry-cleaning-drivers, how high will the quality of their work for me be? Who would ever buy anything from these guys? Please, believe me: You can’t do it all for a living.
If you can’t fit it on a sign, forget it. You don’t have to have a sign (if you work from home you probably won’t, but if you’re not at home for heaven’s sake do get one designed now! Don’t hide your business from the world).
You have to get yourself out of the coded-pockets thinking, if you ever want to be taken seriously. One sign. One business card. ONE business.
No more commitment phobia
It’s time to walk down the aisle. Just you, and that special business. The one that you want to shout to the world: “I’m ready to spend more than just the next couple of weeks with this one!” You’ve flirted, you’ve courted, you’ve considered others, but you and I know that you’ve found The One, because you took these steps:
Find your thrill. Research, then focus like a laser. You’ve looked into it thoroughly. Maybe you’ve had help with this stage. (Need help?) You’ve found a real Pain Point that real people have, and that they have the money to fix. You provide their Ideal Solution.
Yes, knowing your Ideal Customer this well takes research. Do it before you throw your time and money out the window! If your business description involves the word “thing” (“real estate thing,” “Internet thing”), you are not done. Get outside Perspective.
Know what you love so well that no one else knows as much as you, within your target market. If you’re replaceable, you’ll be replaced sooner or later. Be the go-to expert.
Love what you do so much that you couldn’t possibly switch to some different business tomorrow if skies are cloudy. When you are committed, you’ll work it out. You’ll find a creative way to bring what you know and love (that Ideal Solution) to your Ideal Customer, because love (of your work) means doing whatever it takes. You have to be your number one brand Propheteer. Nobody should sing the praises of your business in quite the devoted tones that you do.
Haven’t taken those steps yet?
Are you still clinging to your commitment phobia? The aisle’s short and sweet, and there’s far more business on the other end. Take one little step at a time and your business will make more money:
I will find my thrill.
I will know what I love, and become The expert at it.
I do love what I do.
That didn’t hurt at all. You’re committed now, or re-committed if you’re an established business owner who’s gotten a little off track. I’ll see you around as your business grows, and I’ll be sure to throw some rice.
What would your sign say? Are you committed?
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
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3 June 2008, 10:07 am
Kelly,
You need to go have a talk with these guys. If anyone can turn them around you can.
This is a great post. But now that I think about it it seems like the guys don’t want to put all their eggs in one basket because they are hoping something “takes.” But if they can’t focus, then probably nothing will take.
When I started freelancing I wasn’t sure what type of writing I would like to do. Sure, I had learned how to write grants and press releases from a job I had, but did I want to do that? And how would I mix my photography in with all of that? It just seemed too messy.
I even did a few blog jobs, but blogging for other people feels weird to me.
So I decided to focus on writing articles online and for the print marketplace, with and without photos. And get in with a stock photo agency. This is the best fit for me, and I don’t have eggs all over the place. Too many eggs and they break. A few special eggs and they hatch.
3 June 2008, 9:06 pm
If I had to put myself on a sign, it would say, “James Crossman: Technologist. Naturalist. Generalist.”
I struggled a long time with the hats that I wear. These hats include data communications; information security; writing; consulting; photography; naturalism; entertainment; etc.
I think a reason I resist specialization is something I once read along the lines of, “The more adaptable you are, the less adapted you become. Conversely, the more adapted you are, the less adaptable you become.”
Then again, I could be wrong. Maybe I need more specializations?
3 June 2008, 9:32 pm
“What would your sign say? Are you committed?”
I see. Yes, very.
Thanks for askin’.
3 June 2008, 9:33 pm
Shoulda been:
I sell. Yes, very.
Damn dyslexic keyboard
3 June 2008, 10:28 pm
Ellen,
Thanks much. I like to think I could “put a bug in their ear,” as my mother would say, but are they listening? When you’re ready for the message is when you can hear it. Sadly, these guys have apparently already sent good money after bad with concept number one and don’t get it. Two, three, and four to follow shortly.
And with your few special eggs I know you! You are the lady who writes about photography, and who writes about her photographs. That’s not too spread out. I don’t confuse you with Friar or Brett or Tei or a hundred others, because what you do has a special place in my head. ONLY YOU live there, and that’s what focus is about.
(Now, if you disagree with how others see you, then you aren’t projecting the Vision you want to, and we have a Perception problem. I think you’re good with that, though.)
James,
Truthfully? My two-second assessment would be, and what do I buy from you that I can get nowhere else?
You might start with talking to your mom or another disinterested party. You want to be That Guy Who…, and we’ve got to be able to fill in the three dots pretty easily to think of you first in your specialty.
Don’t take it the wrong way, because I don’t have sufficient information about you, but you should be able to increase interest in your business by increasing your focus. Thanks very much for thinking out loud here today!
Mike,
The mild dyslexia rears its ugly head again. So sorry.
Yes, you’re in a special place in my head, also. You sell, and I believe you are very committed. (Your comment “I see” worked, too, lol.)
There’s no way around it: Commitment-phobia interferes with communication (and growing a business!). You have to trust and take that plunge. I can’t imagine loving anything but helping small businesses grow with Experience Design. That’s the kind of commitment we’ve got to find, because it draws customers who believe in you.
We all want to help more folks to enjoy our Ideal Solution. First, you have to know what it is.
Regards,
Kelly
5 June 2008, 11:49 am
Ouch.
Yup, I should be committed. I’m not trying to latch onto the next big/cool/fab/hip thing, I just have more than one marketable skill that I’d love to get paid to use. However, they don’t necessarily work well together like Ellen’s photography/writing.
Even now, blogging is great and I’ll keep it going, but the number-crunching side of my brain is wondering what it’s going to do when my database class is over next week.
I’ve built databases for money before, coded entire apps even. Could I get back into it? Sure. Should I? …
After reading this—and seeing clearly how totally right you are—I dunno. Can I serve two masters?
I can tell this was a really good post because it raises really good questions. Thanks
5 June 2008, 11:46 pm
Crystal,
The intersection of what you can do, what you love doing, and what folks need done. That’s the sweet spot. You can’t give 100% to two or three things, so can you merge those skills into the one killer Solution? Or do you need to call some skills hobbies, so you’ll know where to focus your business energies?
No, you can’t serve two masters. If you try, somebody else gets to define you.
Glad to help keep the Big Bright Bulb lit!
Until later,
Kelly