
Your who and do what statement
Express your passion
Explain it to a child
Write good cornerstone content
Cara Lumen | Sing a Deeper Song
Sing a Deeper Song
By Cara Lumen
By Cara Lumen
by Cara Lumen
There are so many people out there sending emails that say “Make Money Now” or things along that line. But they are missing the boat. People know when you are trying to just sell them something and they also know when you are deeply in service to them. Which do you think is more effective?
It’s not what you want to do it’s what they need
There is a very interesting balance between your passion, what you are driven to do, and how to translate that passion into something that is needed by the people you are meant to serve. Of course you have to be passionate about what you are doing, but you also have to be passionately about the changes you are making in the lives of others.
Does your target excite you?
A long time ago when I became a Reiki Master Teacher we stood in a circle sharing about how we would take our new service out into the world. My answer was that I was going to teach people who were already helping other people and that my work would enable them to reach even more people. And it still is today.
My target is entrepreneurs – people with a passion that have a lot to give and just don’t quite know how to make that happen. It is incredibly exciting to see them focus their passion into a viable, marketable, service. Of course that’s exciting to me – I help them and they help others. Perfect.
Corral that passion
It’s taken me a lot of years to focus my passion – I’m one of those people who keeps having ideas and is more enchanted with creating them than maintaining them. Perhaps you know the type. It helped tremendously when I realized that my passion was about learning and sharing what I learn with others. But at the core of that was organizing – organizing thoughts into words that touched people’s hearts, organizing ideas into a plan of action helping people sort out their passion and their ideas and turn it into a way to touch the lives of others.
If you passion is huge, rein it in. Keep looking beneath what you love to do for what it is about how you do it that is so appealing. That will bring you closer to the core.
Are you selling or serving?
I put off learning about marketing because I knew I couldn’t sell anything to anyone. I still can’t. But I sure can help them. I can help them find what they need to do next. I can help them decide how to organize their marketing plan, or organize their ideas into signature products. Each email I send, each landing page I write is an invitation, an invitation to get to know me better, to check out what I’m up to and if it’s something that you need or that simply appeals to you, then let’s connect. It’s always about inviting. It’s about building a community that likes you and trusts you and that you love to serve. Stop selling and start serving. You’ll love the results.
© 2010 Cara Lumen
By Cara Lumen
by Cara Lumen
Suddenly the weather is affecting my personal calendar and I find myself with yet one more thing to consider when scheduling my week. I moved from California to Kansas City and now I have to care when the next snowfall is coming. So even though I set aside a patrician time in my schedule to go get groceries, I suddenly have to care exactly when I go according to the weather report so I’m not stomping through snow to do it. I have to keep my schedule fluid. I have to keep it flexible. And I have to be willing to change.
Watch for the latest needs of your Target Audience
We have to stay flexible in our business, too. We have to be nimble in our response. We have to leave room for change. Nimble means lively, quick, and dexterous. As an entrepreneur we have to be ready to quickly address the most recent needs of our target audience. What do they need to know right now? How can I offer a part or all of that knowledge? How rapidly can I get it to them?
Economy is always a factor, it changes and people are looking for innovative, inexpensive ways to get their problem solved or the job done. What do I do?
How can you change what you offer?
I’ve been collaborating with Judy Stewart of www.jstewartdesigns.com for a lot of years creating web sites for our clients. I do the content development and she does the web design. We work in DreamWeaver and we have our clients get Contribute so they can work in it too. But a new client made me start looking at alternatives I could offer, based on what I now know. I looked at WordPress. I know there are a lot of free templates out there but my clients want unique, made-for-them designs and Judy can do them. Now I have recently found another partner Adam Sayler of www.impressionengineers.com who can translate those designs into WordPress. And suddenly, I have another version of a website to offer my clients. And another person to collaborate with.
What new collaborative partners can you develop?
Who do you need to collaborate with to create new services and products for your clients? Adam and I are going to create a blogging course together – he knows WordPress, I know the marketing. How can you create a Collaborative Partnership that will double the people you reach and create something you neither one can offer by yourselves. And how rapidly can you bring it into existence?
Are your systems in place and ready to move quickly?
Get your systems in place so you can respond quickly to the new needs of your clients. Your intake forms, your invoicing system, your social media update system, your virtual team, your product development plans.
Review your ideas regularly
It turns out I have a lot of half finished ebooks. I know, that’s not a good thing, unless I suddenly see a new need that I have not addressed and can pull up one of those ebooks and get it out there in a week. Now that’s nimble. And with that much of a head start it may turn into a telecourse rather rapidly. I’m not saying to keep a lot of half-completed projects on hand, but do keep your ideas handy so you can develop them on a minute’s notice.
Be Prepared to create and adjust
Be nimble with your ability to change directions. I taught a course “How to Build a Magnetic Marketing Plan.” I was going to turn it into a home study course. But after I taught it I realized it needed to be a workbook so people could go through the material at their own pace. Create and adjust. Create and adjust.
Nimble is about being skillful, it is about anticipating, it is about keeping your fingers on the pulse of the people you serve and stepping in quickly to fill their most current pressing need. How nimble is your business?