Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs
Issue #10
June 6, 2003
Claudette Rowley
MetaVoice Coaching & Consulting
Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs gives aspiring
and seasoned entrepreneurs tools and tips for creating a successful start
up business, enjoying the rewards of risk taking, and achieving balance between
personal and professional life.
Dear Friends:
Welcome to our many new subscribers this month!
I'm pleased to offer the book I've co-authored - A Guide to
Getting It: A Clear, Compelling Vision - to you at a 50% discount
for the month of June. I so strongly believe in the value of this
book, that I want to offer you an extra incentive to take
advantage of it! See the MetaVoice News section for more
information.
This month, I've added a new feature to the newsletter -
Different Voices. I've placed it at the end of the newsletter to
send you off with an inspiring thought or idea. Have a quote
you'd like to share? Send it to claudette@metavoice.org.
Here's to a sun-filled, fun-filled June!
Claudette
Insight of the Month
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is
no path and leave a trail.”
Market From The Inside Out
Marketing, promotion, visibility - our businesses would wither
away without it. Some of us are natural-born marketers; for
others, it's a learned skill.
Most business-owners with an on-line presence are familiar with
the multitude of methods to drive traffic to their web sites.
Some write articles, some join affiliate programs, and other
focus on search engine positioning or pay per click technologies.
Buying ads and exchanging links are all common strategies.
Other businesses focus on an off-line approach: networking, leads
groups, public speaking, and word of mouth referral. Others use
a combination of an on-line/off-line approach. The marketing
possibilities are endless.
When deciding on the right marketing strategy, we often tend to
examine what will work externally out in the marketplace, and
overlook what works internally for us. What are the marketing
strategies that are in harmony with your inner purpose?
Here are some points to ponder before you take action:
Get clear about who you are and what you have to offer. In
other words, know your inner purpose. Once you're clear about
your inner purpose, it can take many external forms. Perhaps your inner purpose is to create beauty in the world.
This could take a host of external forms - designer, artist,
florist, architect - just to name a few. If your inner purpose
is to help others become more self-aware, you could be a coach,
a writer or a minister, for example. Maybe you're clear that
you want to help others create businesses that support not only
their bank accounts, but their lifestyles as well. Or your
inner purpose is to make people's lives easier and you do that
by creating innovative technologies.
Notice your energy levels. For example, I recently received a
phone call from an author and business owner who had read one
of my articles online. During our conversation, he made the
statement that "public speaking is where the money is." For
him, maybe. For me, though, the money is in doing what I love:
writing and coaching.
Why? Because doing something that doesn't energize me drains
energy away from the marketing practices that do energize me.
In a cost-benefit analysis, it costs more than it benefits. What's right in front of you that you arent seeing? Sometimes
opportunities are so close to us we can't see them. The good
news about this is that others around you can usually see what
you are myopic about. Ask others for honest, clear feedback
about your purpose and how it's reflected in your marketing. Don't forget low-hanging fruit. What's a quick, easy, fun
marketing step you could take right now?
The most effective marketing starts with who you are and branches
out from there. That doesn't mean that you don't read books,
consult with experts or try out the hottest techniques. What it
does mean is that you need to market from the inside out. Look
at your inner purpose and notice the ways it shows up in your
business. What makes you do what you get up and do everyday?
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Now It’s Your Turn
Review your current marketing plan or strategy. How well does
it work for you? Take a few minutes to ponder your strategies. Do they resonate
with your inner purpose? Do they energize you? If they don't,
what what do you need to eliminate or add?
MetaVoice News
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Different Voices
"Maintaining a complicated life is a great way to avoid changing
it." - Elaine St. James "You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing
we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down." - Mary Pickford "Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person
doing it." - Chinese Proverb
Insights for Savvy Entrepreneurs is written and produced by
Claudette Rowley. If you have questions or comments, please send
them to info@metavoice.org. To
find out more about Claudette and her coaching services, visit http://www.metavoice.org.
Copyright 2003, Claudette Rowley. All Rights Reserved.
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