Business is Like a Slot Machine

Since I only have a couple of months left in Vegas I figured I should squeeze in at least one Vegas related post before I go.

This past weekend I spent two nights at a local resort which is something I do for myself every year around my birthday. I take my favorite books, magazines and just unplug from work and life for a couple of days to relax and recharge. Of course I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try my hand at winning some serious Vegas cash at a slot machine. Just my luck, I did win a progressive jackpot, a whopping $8.46. I know can you believe it? I can retire now!

As I was wandering aimlessly from machine to machine I started to form some business analogies that I thought I would share with you here.

The Prettiest One Doesn’t Offer the Biggest Payout
I tend to avoid the boring old reel slots and head straight for the ones with the flashing lights, pretty colors and cool bonus features. These are also the machines that although they throw me a bonus here and there and create a lot of noise and hoopla, they don’t always give me a great return on my money. I think many businesses are the same way. There are a lot of bright, shiny business models out there that seem really attractive but before you jump in you need to decide whether or not they are right for you and determine what is involved in making that business successful before you sit down and pull the handle.

One Person’s Jackpot Machine May Not Be Yours
Walking through a casino at any given time, you might hear screaming coming from a certain machine with lights flashing and people gathered round. Someone has just hit the jackpot. Good for them! But don’t expect that when they get up and leave in a few minute that you’re going to sit down and have the same result. The same can be said for business. There are a lot of people that I admire and look up to in business that are doing great things and making tons of money doing it. However, I’m not necessarily cut out for the same kind of business some of my mentors are. What is working for someone else, may or may not work for you. The point is just because you see someone else being successful, don’t think it’ll work for you too. Ask yourself whether or not you can see yourself being happy and passionate in that business. Then ask yourself what are the successful people doing to create so much success with the business. If you think you can duplicate their success and be excited about it then by all means go for it! If you think it’s beyond what you’re willing to do or if you have any doubts whatsoever, put it on the backburner for now and come back to it again in a few weeks or months for a re-evaluation. No matter what, don’t get into a business simply because someone else is making six or seven figures with it. Even if you did create that kind of success with the business, it means nothing if you’re miserable doing it every day. Be sure it is something that aligns with your goals and dreams before you invest your time, talent and money into it.

Signing Up for the Player’s Card Won’t Help You Win
If you’ve walked into any casino you know there’s a “rewards” counter that you go to in order to sign up for their player’s club. Usually when you sign up you get a free coffee mug or T-shirt or some cheesy gift you’ll never use. But you’ve got your shiny new card. The one you stick into the slot machine while you’re playing to earn points. Unfortunately many people also think this card will give them some sort of winning advantage too. It’s all part of the casino’s plan to get you to play more. They want you to think that as long as you have your card in the machine you’re not only getting points (which you’ll probably never use except maybe for a 2 for 1 buffet) but also that maybe since your card is plugged in you might have a better shot at the jackpot.

People who have a business, especially those people considering starting a business fall victim to this idea constantly. They see the latest program, book or system that they think will help them achieve greater success. Soon they have a library of systems and programs, some of which remain unopened. Did purchasing it help the person achieve wealth and riches? Probably not. Why? Because first of all, you need to actually apply the principles and strategies in the system for it to work. Simply purchasing it and skimming through the table of contents isn’t going to accomplish anything. Second of all, people need to stop thinking that they need all of these things to be successful. It’s great to have valuable information at your fingertips and education is the key to success in any capacity but there comes a time when you need to realize that you know enough to be successful on your own.

Winning Or Losing, It’s Still Fun
The funny thing about casinos. They’re hard to leave. Once you start playing you want to keep playing even if you’re losing. If one machine isn’t working you move on to the next one. Sure you’re hoping to hit it big or at least break even but mostly you stick around because you’re having fun. That’s what should be happening with your business as well. Some days you’re going to have great success and be on top of the world. Other days it seems you can’t do anything right. But you keep going because above all, you love what you do and it’s fun to go to work each day. If you’re not having fun you should seriously examine why that is and whether or not you’re in the right business. You may need to change some things or find something else to do but if you’re not having fun you’re not going to enjoy that jackpot as much when it does hit.

When the Love is Gone

I was flipping through a magazine recently when the title of an article caught my eye. It said, “Do You Love Your Business?” My initial thought was, what a silly question, who doesn’t love their business? Then I started to think, that number is probably much larger than I think!

It dawned on me that although there are a handful of people that wake up giddy about their business every day and wouldn’t trade anything about it, they are most likely the minority. For something you spend so much time, and sacrifice on, you ought to love it or why bother, right? For some it may not be quite so cut and dry. So why wouldn’t someone love their business?

Quick Cash
Some people start their business focused on the money. They hear a pitch that they will make fast cash by following a certain business model. They know they need the money and what is being proposed to them sounds fairly easy to do so they jump in. Once they’re in business for awhile they realize one of two things: 1. It’s not as easy to make money as they were led to believe 2. They are making decent money but are incredibly bored or unfulfilled. They think they will look like a failure if they quit, so they stick with it regardless of how miserable they feel.

Inherited Headache
Another reason for not loving a business is inheriting it. Now, while some people can’t wait to take over the family business because it’s all they’ve ever known and they want to carry on a legacy, others don’t share that passion. They might inherit a business from a parent or relative and are designated as the “chosen one” to carry it on. Meanwhile their dreams lie in a completely different direction. They find themselves choosing family loyalty over pursuing their own passion and soon become bitter and resentful because of it.

Wasn’t What I Thought
Some people go into a certain business thinking it is what they’ve always wanted to do and they are gung-ho about it for a time and then quickly burn out. They aren’t seeing the return for their efforts or they feel that they didn’t realize exactly what would be involved in making the business work. They find themselves exhausted wondering why they ever thought this would be enjoyable.

So what do you do when you find yourself in one of these scenarios or another situation where you are in business but feeling miserable and trapped? Fix it!

Excuse: “but in this economy I’m just lucky to have a business that is making money at all. I can’t change now”. Solution: Well, just because the economy is not so good right now and you want to keep the security of a stable business, it doesn’t mean you can’t plan for something new! Start thinking about what it is about your business you don’t like and whether it’s even the right business for you. It might only need some minor tweaks to make it everything you dreamed of. On the other hand it might not be for you at all and when the time is right you can launch something new. Start planning now. Write down what you’d really like to be doing and write down everything you envision about that new opportunity. Begin moving toward that goal while you’re still in your current business and eventually you can sell your business or phase it out to pursue something new.

Excuse: “I’d like to start something new, but I don’t really want to let go of the other business because it does well for me.” Solution: Nobody said you have to give up one for the other! If you can’t run both businesses what about hiring a business manager or another trusted professional to run the operations of business A so you can focus on building business B? There are many people who have multiple businesses and of course one person cannot possibly do everything in that situation. Having the right team in place could mean the difference between misery and elation when it comes to business.

Excuse: “I’m not sure exactly what I want to do.” Solution: Figure it out! Make a list of the things that light you up. That you get so excited about you can’t sleep at night. These are major clues as to what you should be doing in your business. If one of the things on your list doesn’t hit you over the head as an obvious choice, think about how you might be able to take one of those concepts and work it into something that is a viable business option. If none of the things on your list strike you as something you could see yourself doing day in and day out, then let the list rest and come back to it or add to it as you think of something. The last thing you want to do is pick something just to start a business. It is so important that you are going to love it or you are going to end up back in the same boat you’re already in.

The bottom line is, if you’re not happy in your business find a way to change it. It might be as simple as making a few adjustments to your systems or evolving your business into something bigger, better and totally different. Or you might go on to something else altogether. Life is much too short to be unhappy with what you’re doing. Isn’t that why you went into business to begin with? To have the life you wanted and to do what you love? Find out what’s stopping you from doing just that and figure out a way to change it so you can live your dreams.

Twitter: It's "What Are You Doing?" NOT "What Are You Selling?"

Everyone who knows me knows I’m a HUGE Twitter fan. In fact I frequently tell people that I have grown my business significantly over the past several months from Twitter alone. The problem is, when I tell people that their first response is usually, “That’s great! How can I promote MY business on Twitter?” Ahh see? That’s where they are misunderstanding. I never said I was promoting my business, I said I was growing it! Big difference!

Imagine this scenario: You’re invited to a cocktail party. You go thinking you’re going to have a great time and meet a lot of great people. Some might turn into business contacts or even customers down the road, while others might become personal friends. Either way, you’re hoping to have a good time and enjoy a little fun and relaxation. You get to the party and start mingling when you suddenly realize that every third or fourth person you talk to hands you a brochure, a business card and a sample from their product line. At first you politely accept the information and move on but after awhile you find yourself getting annoyed. You didn’t come here to shop! You came here to meet people and enjoy yourself.

Twitter is a party, plain and simple. It’s a huge room with lots of interesting people that you can choose to engage in conversation or not. Where that conversation leads is up to you but starting off by saying “hi you’ve got to see this product” or “check out my website” is not exactly relationship material.

Tweet with These Simple Rules in Mind
I follow a few simple guidelines while participating on Twitter. I have found great success with them and I hope you will too.

1. Use your picture in your profile, not your logo – If I choose to follow you, I want to find out about YOU as a person, not what your brand is about. While I’m getting to know you it helps to put a face with the name.
2. Fill out a complete profile! – So many people miss the value of doing this. Give me a little information about who you are and what you do and YES include a website link because if you look like someone I want to follow (based on your profile and what kinds of things you’re tweeting about) then I am probably going to check out your website to find out more about your business. This is KEY! I WILL check out your business if I am interested in you as a person first, I don’t need you to send me a link before I’m ready.
3. Follow and be followed – chances are I’m not going to follow you if you’re following 5,000 people but only have 30 people following you. This tells me that you’re only interested in following as many people as you can without letting your followers catch up.
4. Don’t just sit there, SAY SOMETHING! – I’m also not going to follow you if you’re following 5,000 people and only have one or two tweets. I need to see that you are engaging others in conversation in a meaningful way, not sending them link after link to your website or opt in page. If you're an expert at something then educate people by answering questions and offering solutions. Don't tell folks to buy your info product to get the answers they need.
5. Pace yourself. Tweeting every five minutes is a good way to lose followers. If you’re going to tweet something, make it good. Encourage someone, send a link to a great blog post or video, make someone laugh or promote someone else by talking about the good experience you’ve had with them.
6. Be yourself! Be authentic and let others see your personality shine. Even be a little silly once in awhile. Life is too short not to have some fun! And yes by all means, if you’re doing all of these things DO talk about your latest blog post or ezine with a link or a video you’ve posted. If you’re being genuine and having meaningful exchanges with others, they will appreciate knowing how and where to get more high quality content from you. (just don’t overdo it!)

The bottom line is, yes absolutely Twitter is extremely important for your business because of the relationships you’re building and the potential to connect with people you might not otherwise dream of meeting. However, the success and growth of your business should be a byproduct of the image you’re projecting on Twitter, how you are carrying yourself and the quality of information you're putting out there, not a direct result of a sales pitch. By being yourself, being positive and consistently posting quality content, you can expect to gain new friends, business contacts and yes, even clients and customers because people will get to know the real you not some scripted, commercialized version of yourself.

What's Your Rep?

I've noticed a pattern recently: I'm getting promoted by people I've never done work for, I'm receiving compliments from high profile individuals and I'm getting invited to participate in exclusive events and networking opportunities. You're thinking, "she must know people in high places". You would be wrong!

I'm just a small town girl doing her thing. So why am I getting so much positive attention and feedback? The answer is, I'm building a solid reputation online and off. How am I doing that? Here's how I'm NOT doing it....

1. I'm NOT speaking negatively about anyone or anything that I see while networking online
2. I'm NOT posting status messages on Facebook or anywhere else with negative connotations or writing off color or obscene messages on friends' walls.
3. I'm NOT spamming all of my contacts by sending them invitation after invitation to join this group or attend that event or join a cause
4. I'm NOT sticking my nose where it doesn't belong in someone else's conversation
5. I'm NOT promoting myself with every tweet or update
6. I'm NOT using auto-follow messages to send people to my website or anywhere else

So then, what AM I doing? Well since you asked...

1. I AM greeting the day with "good morning" posts on Twitter and Facebook and wishing other people a good day
2. I AM paying attention to things like noticing when someone isn't feeling well and wishing them a speedy recovery
3. I AM promoting other people I admire or think have something important to say or offer
4. I AM offering to help someone with a problem or directing them to where they can find help
5. I AM trying to make someone laugh at any given time throughout the day
6. I AM always trying to stay positive and encourage others to do the same
7. I AM talking about my business when appropriate and at no other time
8. I AM telling people how they can get helpful information by not only subscribing to my ezine or blog but to other people's as well
9. I AM myself and not trying be someone I'm not or say I can do things I cannot

I'm also obviously doing the best job I can for my clients. Of course I do this to give my clients the service they expect, deserve and pay good money for, but also because I know my clients have friends. Friends that may ask if they know of a good VA that can help them. Honestly though, one of the biggest reasons I enjoy serving my clients is that they inspire me every day. I am able to be positive and upbeat when I have amazing people to work with. It isn't uncommon for me to hop on Twitter and tweet about how much I love what I do and who I do it for.

The point is, that all of this positive, encouraging and loving energy that I try to put out there every day makes its way around whether I realize it or not. Others pick up on it and it affects them, or at least that is my hope. My clients are great and many of them do promote me whenever they can, but the real joy comes from getting referred, introduced and spoken about in a positive light by those who I don't know or have never worked with but they still tell others about me because of the way I carry myself while interacting online publicly and privately.

So, what's your reputation in your online circles? Are you giving of yourself unconditionally and freely each day while trying to impact or touch someone else's life? Or are you taking and trying to direct droves of people to your website or latest greatest product? Something to think about the next time you log on!

Have a great week!

Jackie